


To Capture a Mermaid's Heart

by AnnitaArtiste39



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate/mermaid, F/M, I don't know where Plagg will come in yet, Mari can't walk, Marichat, Mermaid Marinette (Miraculous Ladybug AU), Prince Adrien (Miraculous Ladybug AU), Tikki is an old wise mermaid, mermaid/Pirates AU, new legs, to capture a heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:22:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 54,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9537710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnitaArtiste39/pseuds/AnnitaArtiste39
Summary: Okay, so I'm seeing all these Mermaid AU's and a majority have it where "if you take the mermaids heart you can grant a wish" and usually in these, Adrien wants his mother back... but what if... now just picture this...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It's been almost ten years to the day since Prince Adrien's mother passed away. And now he finds himself standing on the very dock she use to bring him to. Little does he know, he's not alone. He soon finds himself speaking with the most beautiful woman he has ever seen (who seems to just be bathing in the water). He leaves long enough to pay his respects for his mother, but upon returning to the beach, the girl is gone. heartbroken he finds himself talking to a mysterious old man, who tells him that to have his hearts true desire... "You must capture the mermaid's heart".





	1. The Most Beautiful Creature He'd Ever Seen (Adrien's POV)

Adrien has been having these strange dreams for a while now... dreams where he's chasing this little child with night black hair and sea green eyes. The child is laughing as he chases them. He can't quite tell if it's a boy or a girl, but the child's laughter causes his heart to feel as light as a feather. He chases the child straight into the arms of their mother... her face is a blur, but her wavy bluenette hair and sky blue eyes are clear as day... and then he wakes up.

Adrien rubs his eyes to clear away the sleep, then falls back onto his pillow and throws his arm over his eyes as he groans. He's been having that same dream for months... that stupid happy little child, running to their stupid happy mother... all it does is remind him that his own mother is no longer with them...  
"She has a cold" they said, "She'll be fine in a week" they said... they lied. Each and every one of them... they lied to him. She was not fine in a week, in fact, her health only kept decreasing day by day. Four months... it took them four months to diagnose it... Scurvy. They tried to save her, but she was too weak, she refused to eat... she was dying. His father, the King, couldn't bring himself to see her in such a state, promising that he would take her out only once she was better. Adrien, however, stayed by her side to the very end. He cried when he felt her hand finally go numb. He cried as they pulled the blanket over her head as the escorted him away. He cried as they finally laid her to rest the next day. And he cried when it actually clicked that she wasn't coming back... and he was only six years old.

That was almost ten years ago today. He has since stopped crying, but he can never get rid of the sadness still inside him. Sure, he's learned to fake a smile, pretend everything's alright, be the perfect Prince his father wants him to be. He excels at piano, fencing and physics. He's well studied in languages such as Chinese and English, and he's probably the most rehearsed on the history of their Kingdom than anyone else on the island. But still... these dreams... while they may be all well and happy while they're happening, when he wales up... it only reminds him of his utter depression.  
He misses her. More than anything in the world he misses her. She was his best friend. He could talk to her about anything. They would sing, dance... but now, they can't. When he was little, his favorite thing to do in the world was to play Kitty with mommy. He'd always bring her a little ball of yarn, or nudge his head under her hand and meow at her, causing her to giggle... he loved her giggles. It was his favorite sound in the world. One time she had called him to give him a pair of freshly knitted cat ears and a tail. He was so happy. From then on he was her little Chaton Noir.

Adrien sighed as he finally got up and got ready for the day. It was then that he noticed that the sun wasn't even up yet. Seeing nothing better to do, as his whole schedule had been cleared to signify the anniversary, he decided to go down to his mother's favorite spot... a little dock his father had hand built for her before he was ever even a thought.  
He stood at the edge, staring out onto the open sea, a slight breeze blew through his hair as he watched the sun begin to rise, lighting up the sky in the vibrant hues of pink, purple, yellow and blue. It reminded him of her. The way she would light up the room just by walking into it. Her gorgeous smile, her beautiful voice… voice? It was at that moment the Adrien realized that he wasn’t alone. He scanned all around him but couldn’t see anyone. Intrigued, he began to follow the sweet tune. It grew louder and clearer. It was a song his mother use to sing. He quickened his pace… gosh, he hadn’t heard that song in years  
“I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue, and it’s hey to the starboard, heave-ho. Great sailors beware, cause a big one’s a brewin, mysterious fathoms below.~”  
“Hello?” he called out as he pushed a branch out of the way, still searching for the enchanting voice  
“I’ll sing you a song of the King of the sea, and it’s hey to the starboard, heave-ho. Ruler of all of the oceans is he, in mysterious fathoms below.~”  
“Hello?” where was that voice coming from?  
“Fathoms below, below. From whence wayward westerlies blow. Where Triton is King, and his merpeople sing, in mysterious fathoms below~”  
“Hello?”  
“EEP!” he heard a splash just as he came onto the beach. He looked all around… nothing. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He had just turned around to leave when “h-hello?” he spun around so quickly he was surprised he didn’t get dizzy. That’s when he spotted her. Out in the reef, although he could only see her head, was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. He stared, she was gorgeous. “I-is there a r-reason you’re staring at me wh-when I’m trying to b-bathe?” he blinked letting what she said finally sink in. his cheeks reddened as his eyes grew  
“I’M SORRY!” he apologized as he spun around again, quite glad he decided to come alone. He decided to help her out, so he scanned the beach… he frowned “where are your clothes?”  
“I’m sorry?”  
“Your clothes, they’re not here”  
“Clothes?” a slight pause “Oh, right, clothes, I uh… guess I… forgot them?”  
“WHAT?!” he asked as he turned around, quickly regretting it the moment he saw the shadow of her upper form through the water  
“What? I-it’s not like I expected to be i-interrupted or anything” his blush deepened as he realized that he was not supposed to be there in the first place.  
“I… I-I’m sorry, I can’t talk to you seriously knowing you purposely left your clothes behind… Here” he took off his overcoat and threw it to the girl “put this on, that way it’ll save us both the trouble of embarrassing ourselves further” he watched as she looked the coat over like she had never seen anything like it before….  
“Ookay then”… then, quite hesitantly, she put it on “wow, I-I never… thank you” she smiled  
“no problem… comfy enough for you?”  
“Yes” she gleamed “I never knew clothes could be so comfy… and so warm…” he chuckled  
“you talk as though you’ve never owned a coat before”  
“I haven’t” his eyes were wide again, but this time from shock. She has never had a coat? How did she survive in the winters? Was she a beggar? No, she was too pretty for that… how could she have never had a coat?  
“I… I see” a sill silence passed between the two as they just stared at each other. “So…” he began, “that song you were singing…”  
“Oh, y-you heard that?”  
“it was beautiful”  
“Thank you” she brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, slightly embarrassed at being heard “when I was little, I use to sneak to the little dock around the corner and listen to this woman sing it to her son… I learned it by listening to her, but then, one day… she stopped coming, and… I never knew why…” Adrien took a deep breath  
“that woman… was my mother, and… she stopped coming because… she passed away ten years ago” the girls eyes widened in sadness  
“Oh my sea, I am so sorry” she slightly swam closer to him. He decided to sit down on the sandy beach  
“It’s fine, really”  
“No it’s not, it’s… it’s heartbreaking. You were so young… no creature should have to endure that” he scoffed  
“No creature, huh?”  
“Are you all alone now?” he sighed  
“no, I still have my father, and my people… they give me purpose… a reason to live… but to be honest… I’d give anything just to have her back”  
“I understand” she sadly smiled at him. She was close enough he could reach her now.  
“I’m Adrien” he told her, holding out his hand for a proper greeting “and you are?”  
“I’m-“ But just as she was about to reach for his hand, they heard the church bells chime  
“I’m sorry, you should probably go” she began taking off the now completely drenched overcoat  
“No, you keep it” her head shot up at him “I have plenty more where that came from, don’t worry” he smiled  
“I… Thank you” he stood to his feet and stretched  
“Well, I’d better be heading back, and you should probably head back home before service starts… will I see you there?”  
“Oh, uh… I don’t, I don’t know.”  
“I hope I do.” He answered honestly. She blushed and sank lower into the water, causing him to chuckle. “I’ll see you around.” With that, he set off to head back to the palace to prepare for the morning mass.

He searched through the crowd, scanned every row, searched every street, asked everyone he could find… not a single soul had even heard of the mysterious girl. Oh why didn’t he catch her name before he left her? With one more hope he rushed back down to the beach, hoping to catch even a hint of which way she went, but when he got there… nothing. Not even a single foot print… it’s almost as if she had never even existed at all… had she? But then, she had to… no, she did… if nothing else, his coat was proof. He had left that morning fully dressed, overcoat and all, and yet, even now, he did not have his coat. That was his proof. She wasn’t a phantom. She wasn’t a ghost. She wasn’t just his imagination. She was real. She was real and he would find her. He would find her and he would marry her. Marry her? It was at that moment the Prince realized, that even though they had just met that morning… he felt a connection, a pull, like they had met before… like they belonged together… he loved her. He loved her, and she was gone. She was gone, he didn’t even have her name and she had vanished. His heart began to break again as the tears began to fall again. He hadn’t cried in ages, now look at him… bawling like a baby. He lost her, just like he’d lost his mother. Adrien gritted his teeth as he squeezed his eyes… she was gone, he had finally smiled… a real smile, and now the one who gave him that…  
“WHY DO I ALWAYS LOSE EVERYONE I LOVE?!” she screamed right before his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground  
“Well, if it isn’t our dear Prince” Adrien looked up to see a kind looking old man preparing his small fishing boat “Dear Prince, what troubles you so?” So Adrien explained everything… from his mother, to the mysterious girl. The old man stroke his little beard “Hmm… I see. I’m sorry you have been feeling so depressed dear Prince, but perhaps… what you need… is a wish.”  
“A wish?”  
“Come my boy, and I will tell you a legend. It is said, that if you can capture the heart of a mermaid, you shall be granted one wish.”  
“A mermaid?” Adrien asked, feeling skeptic of the man beside him  
“Indeed. Should you capture the heart of a mermaid, you shall be granted a single wish. Any wish, even one others may see unimaginable.”  
“To bring back the dead?” the boy asked with wide eyes. The older man stroke his beard again.  
“Perhaps”  
“Then that is what I shall do… I’ll capture the heart of a mermaid, bring it back, and bring back my mother.” He rose to his feet, thanked the old man, and ran back to the palace, leaving the wise old man smirking, watching the younger flee with such hope.


	2. Her First Human Friend (Marinette & Alya's POV)

She woke up in the best of moods… She had had that dream again… two humans, one larger than the other seem to be playing tag… she couldn’t really distinguish between how to tell male children from female, so she couldn’t tell you what the child was, but what she did notice… the small one looked to have hair as dark as hers, while their eyes… they look like they had been made out of the sea itself, the perfect combination of blue and green, she smiles as she looks to the man chasing them… and that’s when she noticed him… she could never forget that face… with his seaweed green eyes, and sunlight golden hair… she smiled as she held her arms out for the tiny human to run into. The child smiled at her as they hugged her midriff. The man walked the rest of the way, coming to stand behind her, and wrapping his arms around her, gently stroking her swollen stomach as he gently kisses her temple. And then she wakes up.  
It’s been close to two years since she’d seen him last… two years since she’d begun to have that dream… two years since he’d come to the port his mother use to bring him to… two years since he first gave her his coat… she’s gone back nearly every day, trying to return it and give a proper thanks… but he’s never there. Where did he go? She wraps the coat he gave her around herself tighter as the fall air hits her skin above the water  
“Do you have to go?”  
“Babe, you know I do… the King isn’t giving us much of a choice… he wants his son back… man I knew I should have gone with him… he was my best friend… how could I just abandon my best bud like that?”  
Marinette quickly hides beneath the small dock as the water reflex two humans walking towards the edge of said dock… judging on their voices, one was male and the other was female  
“Common babe, don’t be like that” the man gently wiped away a stray tear from her cheek “Alya, please…”  
“Oh Nino” she quickly enveloped him into a hug, burying her face into his chest “you can’t join the army… you just can’t… I… I want you to find him… bring him home, but… not like this… not under the Kings order…” she pulls back enough to look him in the eye  
“Hey, hey, shh, it’ll be alright. I promise, I’ll bring him home. And when I do, we’ll have a new King, and you and I” he gently lifted her chin “will have a royalty as my best man for our wedding” he pulled her in for another hug. Marinette could see the pain etched in his face as he squeezed his eyes shut, chin resting on her head “Promise you’ll wait for me” he whispers, trying to fight back the tears… and loosing. She chuckles  
“I promise” they share a sweet kiss, and Marinette watches as his reflection disappears, along with the footsteps above her head. The woman sighs as she sits on the edge. Next thing she knows, two feet are dangling in front of her face… two human feet… she’s curious, watching the feet swing back and forth, back and forth, back and-  
“OWW!”  
“What the-“  
“That hurt” Marinette says as she swims out into view, rubbing her nose  
“Oh my gosh, did I kick you? Are you okay? I am so sorry, I… hey, wait a minute… were you hiding under the dock? Who are you? What are you doing here? Why were you under the dock? Are- are you wearing a coat in the water?” Alya stares at the mysterious girl who, seems to have appeared out of no where  
“Okay, okay, one at a time…” Mari hold up her other hand, asking the human girl to pause in her questioning “First, yes, you did kick me”  
“I’m so sorry about that”  
“You are forgiven. It was an accident, you didn’t know I was there. Second, you and your partner startled me, so that’s why I was hiding under the bridge.”  
“Again, sorry… we didn’t know anyone else would be here this early”  
“It’s fine, really. Third, I’m wearing this coat because Adrien gave it to me, and I’ve been meaning to give it back and-“  
“Wait wait wait, did you say Adrien gave it to you?”  
“Y-yeah, about… two years ago now… I think”  
“TWO YEARS?!” the woman jumps to her feet, eyes wide as clams “So… you’re the girl he’d been searching everywhere for?”  
“He was searching for me?” Mari asked, jaw dropped, eyes just as wide. The woman seemed to sober as she glanced over the girl swimming in the early morning  
“What’s your name?”  
“M-Marinette… yours?”  
“Alya”  
“Oh…” Mari trailed off as the woman finally sat back down at the dock “so… do you know Adrien? Do you know where he is? Can you tell him I still have his coat? I made sure to hang it to dry nearly every day-” Alya frowned  
“You mean you haven’t heard?”  
“Heard… what?” Alya sighed  
“Adrien’s missing”  
“WHAT?!?!?” Marinette’s heart skipped a beat… and not in a good way  
“Two years ago… the day he met you, actually… he came barging into my boyfriend’s shop, telling him how he knew how to bring his mother back, and how it would fix everything, then he dashed out the door. Nino and I were worried so we quickly followed after him. We hid behind a pillar each as we heard him pleading with his father…  
“Father, please. Listen to me. I can bring her back. Mother, I can bring her back. I met this old man down by the docks, and he told me, that if I can capture a mermaid’s heart, then it would grant one wish. So father, I request one of your finest sea vessels, and your best navy crew to sail with me, to find a mermaid, and bring back the heart.”  
The king looked at him like he had lost it, then turned his back, to stare at the memorial stained glass window of the late Queen, hands folded behind his back. He took a deep breath and spoke with the most single tone voice  
“Are you mad? What are you going on about? Mermaids? Are you trying to mock me son? Are you trying to mock your mother? You sound just like her… and of all the days… it is clear that you are not well. You will retire to your room for the remainder of the day. Mermaids… such utter nonsense”  
“Wha- you’re not even going to listen to me?!” Adrien lashed out  
“Listen to you? And why would I do that? I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but mermaids do not exist. Stop talking nonsense already. You are the Prince, the only heir to this throne, it’s time you start acting like it. No more talk of mermaids, or bringing the dead back to life. Don’t you think if it could have been done, I would have done so already? Believe me Adrien, I’ve looked into every option to save your mother I could find, unfortunately, your mother was just too sick to be cured.” The King refused to face his son “Nathalie, please escort my son back to his quarters for the rest of the night.” Adrien pulled his arm away from the head maid, and stormed out of the room. Nino and I both looked to each other, then followed after him.  
“Dude, wait up!” Nino called as he made it to the ginormous bedroom. “Adrien, buddy… what’s going on? And what was all that about mermaids?” he was packing. He was rushing around grabbing everything he could grab when he finally caught Nino and I from the corner of his eye. He rushed over  
“Nino, Alya, just the two I need… common, help me.” Then he goes back to packing his things. Nino and I look at each other, and with a single nod we got to work helping him pack. “I know you were there, I know you heard everything… I’m going… I’m going to capture the mermaid’s heart and bring back my mother. Then the Kingdom can return to how it once was again.” The he turned to Nino “come with me… if I’m gonna steal a boat, then I’ll need someone to help with the ties and sails” Nino’s eyes widen as I drop what I’m holding, my hands flew to my face  
“A-Adrien, buddy… I’m… I’m sorry, I can’t go with you…” Nino sighs “I promised Alya’s father… if I can run a shop, build a home, and prove to him that I can care for a future family within three years, he promised me Alya’s hand in marriage… I just bought a little shop in town, I’m going to be making and selling instruments… I… I can’t lose her” Adrien placed a hand on his shoulder  
“It takes a strong man to place his future wife’s happiness above his own love for adventure” Adrien smirked  
“Adrien, common dude, we’re not little kids playing pirates in the garden anymore… we’re adults, and as such, we have to make hard decisions…”  
“I know Nino, and you are making a very wise choice.” He smiled “I won’t take you away from your girl, however, I do insist on being the best man once I return home.” The two laughed as we finished packing his bags. We then snuck down to the loading docks and snuck a simple sail boat. Adrien leaving his signature butterfly pin from his father in its place. The last we saw, he was sailing away into the blackened sea.  
When the King found out that the Prince had run off, he was furious. He snatched up the butterfly pin and ordered countless search parties to chase after him and bring him back by force if needed…” Alya sighed “They’ve been searching for two years now… most of the village as declared him lost at sea, but the King refuses, and has resorted to forcing our men to go to sea to try and find him… and this morning, the mark of our two year engagement, Nino has been recruited. So now, I’m left to run the shop until he returns home…”

Marinette stared in shock “That’s… that’s Utterly REDICULOUS!!!” she screeched, her fists balled as she hit the water “WHAT DOES HE MEAN MERMAIDS DON’T EXIST?! HOW WOULD HE KNOW?! OF COURSE THEY EXIST! WHO DO YOU THINK TEACHED THE LITTLE GUPPIES TO SWIM IN SCHOOLS?! WHO DO YOU THINK CREATES TIDLE WAVES WITH THEIR RACES?! WHY DO YOU THINK THE DOLPHINS ARE SO COMFORTALBE AROUND HUMANS?! BECAUSE OF MERMAIDS, THAT’S WHY!” Alya looked at her like she had lost her mind, then suddenly her mind rebooted and she quickly motioned for the girl to lower her voice  
“SHHHHHH… keep your voice down… look” Alya pinched the brim of her nose “I’ve never seen a mermaid before, so, Hey, maybe they do exist, but if they did, they’d be best to keep it to themselves… and stay away from here, or the ship Akuma… that’s the ship the King has looking for Adrien, and if they found a mermaid before the Prince… let’s just say… they’d take her heart by force to give to the King.”  
Marinette grew pale with worry “y-you mean they w-want to… t-to…” Alya sighed  
“Unfortunately, that’s the only way these men know how to bring back a mermaids heart… unfortunately, I don’t think they’d be willing to let them live, just to bewitch them with their voice and sink their ships” Marinette’s face went from pale white to red with anger  
“Are you telling me, that those… those… SAILORS, are so quick to confuse Mermaids with SIRUSES?! THE NERVE!” she pounded her fists onto the surface of the water, slightly splashing Alya “As if… those lousy siruses give all merfolks a bad name… THEY’RE the ones who sink ships just for the heck of it… and if you try to take THEIR hearts, it would do the exact opposite of a mermaids… instead of a wish… you would be granted a curse. Siruses are dangerous beings that even the merfolks steer clear of… mermaids are kind and gentle creatures, who live to serve the sea and all its creatures, siruses are evil, who live only to bring downfall to anyone who crosses their path. The only reason the siruses haven’t attacked the merfolks is because of King Dupain… he offered them a private setting where they could live however they want, and in return… they are set as guards around Atlantica , making sure that no human vessel comes close to harming even one merfolk.”  
“Boy, you sure do know a lot about mermaids” Alya eyed her suspiciously  
“So… if your… Nino, were to find a mermaid” Marinette squirmed as she tried to change the subject “do you think he would…”  
“No. Nino may be defiant sometimes, but he is not a killer. Actually, if he were to see one, he would probably try to help them escape… besides… Nino doesn’t believe in magical creatures.”  
“Wh-what about you?” Alya looked taken aback  
“Huh?”  
“If… i-if you were to ever meet a mermaid, w-would y-you…” Alya blinked… did she just see a tail slightly lift out of the water?... her mind began to connect the dots  
“If I were to ever meet a mermaid” she began, a serious expression on her face as she lowered the tone in her voice “I would tell her to go. To flee. Don’t come back here, it’s too dangerous. However, I would ask that… if possible… she would find the Prince, bring him home, and save our land. If I met a mermaid” she bent down onto her knees “I would thank her for sharing so much with me, as well as wish her Godspeed, and ask her to stay safe, and away from the ship Akuma, or any vessel like it. And above all else… I would deny it” Marinette looked shocked, so Alya continued “I would deny ever meeting a mermaid, because I could never let harm come to a friend… as far as the rest of the world knows… there was a girl bathing in the early morning before even the rooster crowed, and I just happened to meet her before having to return home to open shop, leaving the girl to dress privately and run back home.” Alya winked. Mari’s jaw dropped  
“H-how did you-“  
“And I most certainly didn’t see a red tail come partly out of the water a moment ago, and if I did… it must have been a catfish or something” Marinette giggled as Alya shrugged, then Mari held out her hand  
“Please bring them back to me” Alya asks as she takes the outstretched hand. Mari smiles  
“I promise. I’ll find him, and bring him home… even if I have to give up my life.” Then Alya watches as Marinette dives back into the water and swims away.  
“I hope it won’t have to come to that.”

Marinette swam as fast as she could back to Atlantica, until she stopped in front of a rather large cave “Grandmother Tikki?” Marinette asked before gently swimming into the cave  
“Marinette?” the much older (although you couldn’t tell to look at her) mermaid asked as she swam out from behind a seaweed curtain.  
“Grandmother, it’s awful, just awful” Marinette cried as she rushed into the waiting arms. Tikki, even though she was already 2300 years old, honestly looked like she could pass as Mari’s big sister. There was no gray or wrinkle about her. Her blood red hair followed down to the center or her back, while her eyes seemed as blue as the sky at noon, and her tail, even more red than that of her granddaughters, she hugged the young one tight “Now tell me, what’s going on?” and so Marinette explained everything Alya had told her, from beginning to end. “Oh dear… Mari, is this the same boy who save you that coat you’re always wearing?” Marinette nodded sadly as Tikki looked over it again “and you’ve be hanging it up to dry on my island everyday like I told you, yes?” Mari sniffed back a silent tear as she nodded again  
“Yes Grandmother. I’ve made sure to dry it out everyday so the seams won’t ruin and it won’t smell bad of the sea… just like you told me. And any tears I’ve managed to cause, I’ve sewn up myself with the seaweed thread you gave me.” Tikki looked over the coat again, noticing how well the girl really kept it… it looked just as good as the day the girl first showed it to her  
“Do you still plan to return it?” Marinette hesitated as she twiddled her thumbs  
“Y-yes” she mumbled “but… I have to find him first… besides, I… I promised Alya that I would find him and bring him back… they… they need him…” Tikki smiled at the girl’s bashfulness  
“Well then, I’m afraid you’ll have to go after him then” Marinette’s head shot up to see a sweet smile on her grandmothers lips “Wait right here dear, alright?” with that, Tikki swam back through the seaweed curtain. A few minutes later she came back out, handing over a closed oyster to the girl. Marinette took and opened it, then gasped at what she saw… for there on the tongue, sat a pair of earrings. Mari gently touched over them, admiring their beauty. “Now don’t put these in yet Mari” said girl looked confused at her Grandmother “these are magic. For the moment you put them on, you will lose your tail, and form legs… in other words, you will become a human. Including, not being able to breathe underwater.”  
“Why would I need that?”  
“Because Mari…” Tikki laid a gentle hand on her granddaughters shoulder, as she looked into her eyes “if he really is so intent on finding a mermaid, as you say… if he were to see you with a tail, then he may not hesitate to take your life. Take these” Tikki takes the girls hand as she closes the clam “and when you find them, put them on… but do not lose them.” Mari took a deep breath as she buttoned the clam into one of the inside pockets of the coat.  
“I promise Grandmother. I’ll find him, and I’ll bring him back…“ she hugged her Grandmother tight and began to pull away.  
“Just one more thing dear” Tikki added with urgency. “there’s been tell of a new pirate roaming the sea… his name is Chat Noir. He may be young, and he may be new, but he’s very dangerous. Should you come across him, you most certainly cannot let him know that you’re a mermaid… I fear to think of what could happen to you if he were to find out.” Marinette tightened the grip on her coat  
“Don’t worry Grandmother, he’ll never know.”  
“Good girl” they hugged once more “Now go, I’ll explain everything to your parents, but you must be on your way.”  
“Thank you” Mari kissed Tikki on the cheek and swam away.  
Tikki stood just at the mouth of the cave, watching the young mermaid swim far out of view, a knowing smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes, before she chuckled and began to make the way to the castle to explain to the King and Queen about their dear daughters rescue mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Alya, Nino, and Tikki into the mix... thoughts?


	3. Alya's Gonna Kill Me (Nino's POV)

It’s been three nearly years…  
Four years since his best friend had come charging into his shop, the biggest grin plastered on his face that he’d ever seen, going on about how he could save his mother. Four years since he and his fiancee chased after the hysterical young man to be sure he was safe. Four years since he had hidden behind that pillar with her, listening to his best bud nearly beg for his father’s blessing to search for the blessed mermaid’s heart. Four years since the King denied, banishing the Prince to his room. Four years since he and his wife-to-be listened to his logic and helped him pack his bags. Four years since the Prince had snuck onto that little rowboat, where his best friend asked him to come with him, but he denied, choosing instead, to stay and prepare for his future family. Four years since he last saw his best friend sail out of sight, into the dark midnight sea. Four years since he and Alya had begun to lie to everyone around them when asked if they knew where the Prince had disappeared to (including to the King himself). Four years since the first report of a missing rowboat reached the King’s ears. Four years since the King’s first Navy ship set sail to bring the young man back before he drown in the ocean.  
It’s been two years…  
Two years since he finished paying off his new music shop. Two years since beginning to build their life together. Two years since they finally set a date. Two years since the notice that the ship Papillion had gone MIA. Two years since the King all but lost his mind. Two years since the declaration was proclaimed “All Young Men Able To Fight, Must Report To The Docks To Join The Navy, And Bring Back The Prince”. Two years since he got the final notice. Two years since the General came to his door, telling him he had one more night with his fiancee before having to report for duty the next morning. Two years since he last saw her. Two years since he last held her. Two years since she promised to wait for him, after begging his not to go. Two years since he left her on that dock. Two years since he first boarded the ship Akuma. Two years since they proclaimed him too week for any “real” work (what do they know?). Two years since he was first given that mop and bucket. Two years since he last saw his home drift away with the sea.  
It’s been one year…  
One year since he reluctantly mopped up the aftermath of yet, another party. One year since he realized these men, Captain included, did NOT take their task seriously. One year since he was ordered not to go to bed ‘til the entire deck was spotless. One year since everyone else had gone to bed, leaving him alone in the middle of the night. One year since that storm began to grow. One year since everyone else was too drunk to hear him crying out for help, or even notice the ship was sailing off course. One year since he tried his best to steady the wheel in the middle of that storm. One year since the waves grew to be as large as the castle back home. One year since he was swept overboard. One year since he tried to keep his head above water. One year since, with wide, fearful eyes, he saw one more giant wave consume the entire Akuma. One year since he woke up holding onto driftwood from the late ship, gently floating in the middle of the ocean. One year since he first saw the giant, pitch black ship come into view. One year since he woke up in a bed, food at his side, and a blond stranger with black cat ears and a black mask at his feet. One year since he realized who he had found. One year since he broke down on the spot, crying tears of joy as he embraced his best friend. One year since he joined the crew. One year since being appointed Second in Command. One year since being told to never speak his dead name, instead being asked to refer to him as the rest of the world knew him… the dreaded pirate, Captain Chat Noir.  
*PLOP*  
Nino thought over these thoughts as he mopped the deck of the great ship Miraculous. He hadn’t been reduced to cabin boy like he had before… no, this time he was swabbing the deck by choice… truth be told, he just had too much on his mind, but after the trauma of seeing an entire ship go down while everyone on board tried to sleep the drunkenness away, he cannot bring himself to drink, and as they have not seen land in nearly two months, the nets have been cast to capture their supper for the next three. As he was mopping, he happened to notice Nathaniel, one of the crew, nodding off as he waited for the little bell to dingle, signaling their next catch. Nino chuckles as he walks over to the half-asleep tomato-head and tells him to head to bed… Nino may not be a drinker, but Nathaniel sure was, and every time he did, he about passed out the next hour. Once he was sure the other had made it below deck alright, he went back to his mopping and his thoughts, keeping an ear out for the tell-tale sound of dinner.  
It’s about two in the morning, hours have passed before the little bell alerts Nino to check the nets. He begins to hull it up “Dang this is heavy” he huffs “What do we have? A shark?” he readjusts his grip so as not to drop the net as he lifts, gritting his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut to concentrate  
“HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” his eyes pop open at the sound of a woman coming from over the edge of the boat… from The NET?!  
“Oh crap, H-HOLD ON MISS!” he shouts as runs to tie the one end of the rope to the mass to keep her out of the water, he wasn’t about to let her drown “J-JUST HOLD ON… I’VE GOTCHYA!” he begins pulling the rope again, much more urgently this time “I gotchya, I gotchya… gosh are you okay?”  
“Yeah, but, can you get me out of this thing?”  
Finally he hulls the net over the edge and onto the deck “Yeah, sure, just a sec” he pulls out his knife and starts trying to cut it “So why were you just in the middle of the ocean… shipwreck or something?”  
“No… I was… looking for someone… a Prince to be exact” Nino chuckled at her response as he kept sawing at the ropes…. Dang, Kym sure wasn’t kidding when he said not even a sawfish could escape his nets  
“A Prince huh? Don’t you think you’d have a better chance finding one, oh I don’t know, on land?” finally the first strand broke, now onto the next one  
“No, this Prince disappeared three years ago” Nino paused his movements  
“Just who are you looking for dudette?”  
“Prince Adrien” his eyes widened  
“Don’t ever say that name here” he began sawing away again “if you do, you very well might get tossed overboard” she laughed  
“That wouldn’t do much to me, I am quite the swimmer.” He raised an eyebrow at her as the second strand broke… one more should do it  
“So, what’s your name Miss Moses”  
“Moses?”  
“It mean ‘Drawn Out’” he chuckled. She rolled her eyes  
“Marinette. Yours?” he stuck his tongue out as he finished cutting through the last trouble rope, letting it fall away from the girl  
“It’s… aaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Nino jumped back, jaw slacked, eyes widened with fear as he pointed at the girl, or rather… “y-you’re-you’re-y-you’re… YOU’RE A MERMAID!!!” for lo and behold, there, sitting amongst the cut up net, and small little fish, sat a sea creature both half woman and half fish, with the reddest tail he’d ever seen. Her hair was as dark as the night, her eyes, as blue as the day, and she was clutching closed a certain jacket he almost recognized… no, he DID recognize it… especially the embroidered AA stitched on the pocket. “I-You-Wha-How?!” he sputtered, trying to find his words. Suddenly he stood straight, took a deep breath in and turned on his heels  
“Uhh… what are you doing?” he bent down and picked up his canteen, opening it, taking a sip, and then smelling it for good measure  
“Making sure no one spiked my water, because there is no way in the WORLD that I am actually seeing a mermaid in the flesh” he heard Marinette sighed  
“Is that really necessary?”  
“Now I know I’m tired, but I’ve never hallucinated before”  
“Will you stop your denial? This isn’t a hallucination” he turned around to see the mermaid with crossed arms, her tail tapping like that of an annoyed mother… creepy “Well? Are you going to help me back into the water or not? I thank you for getting me out of that net, but I HAVE to find Adrien” that caught his attention. His face suddenly hardened as he folded his own arms, gazing at her like a reprimanding father  
“And what business do YOU have with the Prince?” she groaned  
“Look, I’ve been searching for him for around three years now, and why? Just to give him back his coat”  
“His… coat?” she closed said coat tighter around her, her expression softening as she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent like it was his  
“His coat. See, around three yours ago, he, uh… kinda walk in on me bathing in the shallows… thinking I was one of your female humans, he threw his coat out to me, and told me to put it on… nearly every day I’ve tried to come back to return it, but he never came again… finally I learned only last year that he was officially missing. So, I’ve been searching for him since. I was trying to air it out again so it wouldn’t spoil and ruin, then just as I was putting it back on… your net came and snatched me out of the water” she finished with irritation. Nino rubbed the back of his neck  
“Uh… sorry about that” she smiled  
“It’s okay. So, are you going to put me back into the water?”  
“Actually… I…” Nino’s eyes widened as he just realized what she had said… three years ago, walked in on her bathing, dis disappearing… ‘She’s the girl’ his eyes dashed to her ‘she’s the girl he was looking for that day? For Pete’s sake, no wonder he couldn’t find her again… she’s a Flipping MERMAID!’ he began pacing  
“Uh, Sir?”  
‘There is absolutely No WAY I could kill her… even if it means no Queen, she’s already been gone over fifteen years, and… this is my best buds love life we’re talking about!’  
“Sir?”  
‘But… Wh-what should I do? If I set her free, Adrien will one, lose the mermaid he’s been after, and two, lose the girl of his dreams’  
“Are you alright?”  
‘But what if-‘  
“HEY!” he spun around to face her “Seriously, are you alright Mr.., um..”  
“Nino”  
“Nino? NINO! Oh my Gosh… I FOUND YOU!” she exclaimed gleefully  
“Found me?” she giggled  
“Yes! You were there with Alya, right? At the dock? After you left, Alya… kinda accidently kicked me in the face, then she told me about how Adrien was missing, and how you were joining the Navy to find him, and she asked me to make sure you both came home safe” her smile was as wide as it could go. Nino paled  
“Y-you know… Alya?” ‘well CRAP! Now I REALLY can’t kill her… unless I want Alya to kill me… nope, nope, rather stay alive, thanks’  
“Yes, I do, and she told me that you were going to find him, and… if I found you… does that mean… Did I actually Find HIM?!” she squealed “Do you know where he is?”  
‘Oh no, not good, common Nino, think fast’ “Uh… l-look… obviously you’ve spoken with Alya, and you know who I am… and if she told you anything, then… I’m sure you know he had a little help escaping?” she nodded ‘Oh sweet Alya, what have you done’ he sighed “Yes. I know where he is, however… until he reaches his goal, he’s in hiding, and… he won’t come out until… did she… d-did Alya tell you what he… w-what he’s… after?” she nodded slowly ‘Alya, you’re killing me babe, you’re really killing me’ he sighed again. “Look… … … Ghaa! I don’t know what to say right now… so… do you always have a tail?”  
“Are you changing the subject?”  
“Honestly, yes, but actually, it’s a good question… I mean, if anyone else here sees you like this…”  
“Oh… right… humans… don’t have tails, do they?” she asked. He shook his head. “Hold on” Nino watched as she pulled an oyster out of one of the pockets, put on what looked like earrings, then with a blinding flash of pink light, he shielded his eyes, but when he uncovered them…  
“Y-YOU HAVE LEGS!”  
“Yes, I do… I DO!” she squealed again, clapping her hands. She tried to stand up, but it was useless. She tried again, and again, and again, have her arms cave out, or her face hit the floor each time. Nino rushed to help her. He helped her to stand, glad the coat she was still wearing was still long enough to cover herself, then guided her over to stand with the boat rim. However, just as she was starting to stand on her own  
“Gha, Nino, Do you HAVE to be so loud? It’s like, only five in the morning, WHO could you possibly be talking-” Nino watched as Marinette turned to see the cat like Captain come out from his quarters. He watched as they both stared at each other, eyes both blown wide in recognition “To?” Uh oh, this isn’t good, Marinette’s about to say something, perhaps call him by his naA- OH MY GOSH  
“Chat Noir, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you” Marinette’s eyes grew from eyes wide with recognition to wide with fear  
“Ch-Chat” her hands flew to cover her mouth as she tried to take a step back “NoiAAAAAHHHH!” however in doing so, she lost her balance and fell overboard  
“Oh Crap, MARI! Crap SHE CAN’T SWIM!” Nino yelled, seeing her struggling to use her new legs in the water. He ran to ring the alert bell as Chat Noir stripped off his coat, ran and jumped overboard to save her. The whole crew was up on board in a heartbeat. Nino hurriedly told them that the Captain had jumped overboard to save a woman in distress, and that was all it took. In the blink of an eye the anchor was dropped, the life boat was lowered, and the lifesaver tossed. Nino then jumped into the life boat, just in time to see Chat grabbing onto the lifesaver, with his other arm wrapped around an unconscious girl. Nino pulled them both to the life boat, then, with the help of the crew up top, raised the boat back up. The crew then ran to the three, helping them out of the boat and wrapping them both in warm towels.  
“Nino… Why was this woman on our ship?” Chat asked, unable to take his eyes off of her sleeping form  
“Honestly…” crap… he can’t lie to his best bud, but… maybe he could… twist the truth a little? “I caught her in our net… I think she may have been shipwrecked or something. When I cut her out, she kept talking about how she had to find Prince Adrien. I had just helped her to her feet when you spooked her. You know, it took a long time to actually get her to be able to stand” Chat brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Then he noticed her attire  
“Nino, what is she wearing?” Chat’s eyes widened at the embroidery in the front… No… it can’t be…  
“Apparently the Prince gave it to her three or so years ago, and she wanted to return it to him”  
“She wanted to return it?”  
“I guess he left a day too soon, because according to her, she returned every day to try and see him again” Chat closed his eyes as if in pain  
“ALIX!” Chat shouted. The pink haired pirate came sliding down the mass  
“Yeah boss?” Alix’s eyes widened as she was handed the sleeping girl  
“I want you to take her to the spare room, make sure she’s dry and warm. I’m putting you in charge. No ifs, ands or buts, got it?”  
“Yeah boss” Alix then proceeded to carry the soaking wet girl to the spare room as told  
“MYLENE! IVAN!”  
“Y-yes sir?” the short timid girl asked  
“Mylene, I’d like you to tend to her wounds if she has any… Ivan, prepare warm compresses to build up her body heat, and have a nice hot and ready meal ready for her when she wakes up”  
“Yes sir, on it right away sir.” Mylene rushed to catch up to Alix as Ivan rushed to the kitchen.  
“MAX!” the ships Doctor came rushing to his side “Please check the supplies for any cold remedies, and prepare anything you deem necessary to treat her health” Max nodded and dashed to the supply room  
“ROSE! JEULEKA!” the two girls turned to face him “the girl’s clothes are wet. Rush down to the wardrobe and see if you can find her a proper dry nightgown at least.”  
“YES SIR!” Rose saluted, as Jueleka only nodded and they made their way below deck  
“EVERYONE ELSE! RAISE THE ANCHOR! HOIST THE MAIN SAIL! WE STOP AT THE NEXT PORT WE FIND!”  
“YES CAPTAIN!” rang the rest of the crew  
“NINO!” Nino spun on his heels “Follow me” Chat and Nino walked back to the Captain’s quarters, grabbing his discarded jacket along the way. However, once they were alone “Nino, I’d like you to tell me, just How it the WORLD did SHE COME TO END UP HERE?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know... you don't really see that many Nino POV's... needless to say, I had so much fun writing this chapter... thoughts?


	4. I'm Sorry Princess (Chat Noir's POV)

“Nino, I’d like you to tell me, just How it the WORLD did SHE COME TO END UP HERE?!” Chat Noir asked as he began to pace around the room.  
“Chat, listen, it’s not that big a dea-“  
“Not that big a deal?” Chat interrupted “NOT THAT BIG A DEAL?! Nino, just… tell me I’ve been so long at sea that I’m starting to hallucinate… there is NO WAY, that THAT GIRL IN PARTICULAR SHOULD EVER BE ON BOARD THIS SHIP! WHAT WAS SHE EVEN DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN, ANYWAY?!”  
“ADRIEN!” Nino raised his voice to catch the other man’s attention, causing Chat to glare at him “Chat, buddy, calm down, okay? Truth is, I don’t know why any regular woman would be out in the middle of the sea like this, I mean, who knows, maybe she was in a shipwreck or something…”  
“Is that what she told you?”  
“No. All she told me was that she was looking for a Prince… you, to be exact.” Chat’s eyes grew wide with confusion, concern, worry and disbelief.  
“She was looking for me? Why?”  
“From what she told me, Dudette’s been trying to give you back your coat for nearly three years now. She said she’d been coming back to the dock every day, waiting for you so she could properly thank you.”   
“She came back?” Nino nodded  
“Every day man. I guess during one of those trips, she must have run across Alya, ‘cause she sure knew who I was when I finally freed her from the net.” Chat had fallen into his armchair, overwhelmed by it all. Nino came and sat on the bed beside him “I don’t know how long she’s been searching, but she was bond determined to find you. Heck, she even asked to be put back in the water… she was going to try to swim the whole ocean just to find you, and there’s no telling how long she HAD been swimming up to this point. Don’tchya think, she DESERVES to know her mission was a success?” Chat sighed  
“She came for Adrien, not for Chat”  
“wha-“  
“No.” Chat stated as he stood to his feet “She is not to know her mission was a success. She is not to know my dead name, because that’s what it is… dead. Until I can find a mermaid and take her heart to bring back my mother, that man is dead, nor will he ever show his face. Everyone here on the ship, except you, knows me as Captain Chat Noir. This girl-“  
“Marinette” Nino interrupted  
“Marinette” Adrien tried, then shook his head to get back on topic “This… Marinette, shall be no different from anyone else. I shall tell her myself. Adrien Agreste is dead.” Chat started walking towards the door. Nino was shocked and sprang to action, blocking his way  
“Dude, WHAT are you talking about… you cannot be serious”  
“That I am. She must know the truth” Chat tried to brush past his friend  
“No man, that’s a lie. You are right here. You’re alive.” Nino placed both his hands on his Captains shoulders “listen man, she’s come a LONG way from home JUST to find you, and… you’re going to tell her you’re dead? That would KILL her. Are you really going to kill the woman you love?” Chat stopped in his tracks “Ad-Chat, please. If for nothing else, consider this… she knows Alya, heck, she went and promised my girl she’d bring BOTH of us home safely. Hence, making her Alya’s friend. Hence, promising BOTH of our funerals is anything were to happen to that girl. You and I BOTH know Alya’s devotion to loyalty… I mean it dude, if you so much as hurt this girl… it’s a one way ticket to six feet under.” Chat brushed his friend’s hands away  
“Sorry Nino, but… we can’t have her continue looking for Adrien.” Chat sighed “At the next port, we drop her off. Perhaps if she thinks Adrien is dead, then she can get word back to the Kingdom, and they would stop sending those stupid ships to come take him back by force. As far as anyone else is concerned, Adrien Agreste is dead.” Chat grabbed his coat and headed out the door again “the dreaded Chat Noir killed him in cold blood. And dead he shall remain, even if it costs me my life, I WILL bring her back, do you understand me? I’m sorry Nino, but not even a threat of Alya can change my mind on this issue.” And with that, Chat shut the door behind him, leaving a worried and confused Nino, still standing in the middle of Chat’s room.

It had been four years since he left home. Four years since he left his home, his friends, his father, his life… her. He can still remember it like it were yesterday. After packing all he would take with him, he, Nino and Alya had stowed away to the docks in the middle of the night. They found a one man sailboat, and he quickly boarded, setting sail for the next port. The sea was calm as he watched his home fade away into the sea. However, within the next few hours, he found himself in the dead middle of a hurricane. The waves rose and fell, each one growing in size one after the other. By the time it was over, Adrien had lost his boat to the storm. Hungry, thirsty, exhausted, and just barely hanging onto a piece of debris, Adrien was on the verge of losing consciousness and giving up all together. When he awoke, he was in a bed, in a room he didn’t recognize, and at the foot of his bed, sitting on a chair, was the oldest man he’d ever seen, and in his hand was- Adrien’s eyes widened as checked the chain around his neck, only to discover-  
“Oh, good… you’re awake” Adrien fixed the man a scowl as he ordered  
“GIVE ME BACK MY RING!” The old man chuckled  
“Relax Kid, I was just looking it over.” He tossed it back to Adrien, who caught it midair “Camembert?” Adrien made a disgusted face “Hey, don’t knock it ‘til ya try it… didn’t your Mother ever tell you to eat your cheese?” Adrien quirked a brow  
“Actually, she avoided cheese at all cost… something about… being over introduced to Camembert, I think”  
“HEY! There is nothing wrong with a good love for cheese… in fact, you could say that cheese is this Pirates rum” Adrien’s eyes grew wide as the color drained from his face.   
“Y-y-your, a, p-pirate?”  
“You got it Kid, I am Captain Chat Noir the fourth, but you can call me Gramps Plagg. Got it kid?”  
“… Gramps… Plagg..?”  
“You know, you really do take after your mother.”  
“My Mother? You… you knew my Mother?”  
“… that ring you got there… she gave it to you, right?” Adrien nodded “I thought so” Plagg sighed “That ring… it was mine before I gave it to my Daughter… your Mother. There’s only one like it in all the world, passed down from the very first Chat Noir. The time for me to choose an apprentice came and passed, so… I went to a neighboring countries orphanage. There I found your mother, not much older than ten years old. My intentions were to find a boy, but there was just something about her that screamed to me ‘Take Me In’. So, I took her in, raised her as my own. She became a great addition to the ship Miraculous, but when it came time for her to choose which path she’d take, she chose to return to land, marry and start a family. I loved your Mother like my own Daughter. I was happy when she made her choice, even if it meant my little girl would leave me. I gave her that ring as a wedding gift, making her promise, that once she had a child, she would give them the family crest.” Adrien looked like he had just seen a ghost. Plagg smirked “You don’t even know what it can do, do you?” Adrien gulped  
“What it can do?”  
“Ever try actually putting it on?”  
“No…” Adrien sighed “She gave it to me on her death bed… I was six… the ring wouldn’t fit, so I put it on a chain and kept it hidden in my shirt from my Father once he started removing every trace of her he could find.” Plagg looked shocked, then he sighed  
“Adrien… I’m… I’m sorry for your loss, but… I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been meaning to find a new apprentice, and you, Kid, might just fit the bill.”  
“I’m sorry, what?”  
“I’m taking you in Kid. Together, you and I will sail the seven seas, searching for gold, jewels, and a certain mermaid”  
“A mermaid?” Adrien asked… he was being shocked a lot these days  
“The most beautiful creature you ever did see. With a tail so bright red, you’d think it was blood floating under the ocean. She stole my heart at once, and ever since then, I’ve been sailing high and low, searching for her, to steal hers right back.” Plagg sighed at the memory “But enough about me. It’s your turn Kid. Go ahead, put that ring on.” Plagg sat back as Adrien stood to his feet and, after a brief hesitation, slid the ring onto his right hand finger. A bright green light consumed the boy, then when the light finally faded, it revealed a young man, clothed in leather from head to toe (except for the cotton undershirt, but that was just for comfort), including a leather mask, ears, and a tail. Much like those his Mother had given him, except these… were real.   
“Woah” Adrien stated as he looked himself over in a mirror, surprised that when he touched the leather ear… it moved like it was real, he also noticed the tail was swaying back and forth… was his Mother’s costume for him IMITATING this look for him?  
“Yeah, yeah, you look great Kid. Now, onto business…” Adrien turned to look at the older Pirate “From this day forward, you will eat, live, and breathe as you see me do. You will learn the ropes to becoming a great Pirate, and a great Captain. You will learn our language, put them fencing lessons to good use, learn to act the part in front of those you intend to intimidate, and lastly” Plagg looked him in the eye as he placed a large hand on the boys shoulder “you now bare the crest, henceforth, no longer will you be called Adrien, that name is now dead, but from now on your name shall be Chat Noir… Terror of the seven Seas.”

The ladies all left when they saw their Captain enter the room, leaving just him with the sleeping girl. Chat stood at the foot of her bed, looking over her as she slept. He slowly made his way to her side, gently brushing a small strand of hair back from her face.   
“What are you doing here? We met once… there’s no way you should be here… and to only be wearing a coat… what were you thinking? Surely, you must have some other intentions to be out here. Why would you care so much for some boy you’ve only met once?” he looked over to the coat hanging to dry “It still looks brand new, I must admit, I’m impressed you were able to keep it well for so long.” He gently ran his gloved hand over her forehead. At that moment she began to stir, he snatched his hand back  
“Mmn… so… warm…” Chat chuckled as she snuggled more into the large blankets. At hearing she wasn’t alone, Marinette began to open her eyes “… Ad-rien?” she asked, eyes half lidded. Chat’s smile fell  
“No. I’m sorry Princess, but I’m afraid your precious Adrien is not here” Marinette blinked, then her eyes filled with fear  
“Ch-CHAT NOIR!” she screeched before flaring her arms as she fell out of the bed. “Ouch” she rubbed her head as she sat up, trying to scooch away from the dreaded pirate. Chat watched as she tried to stand, failing like a new born babe. He offered a hand to help her, which she scowled at “DON’T TOUCH ME!” he retracted his hand, folding his arms over is chest, one eyebrow raised as he watched her try to stand… failing every time. Finally she wore herself out. “Where… where is Adrien?” she asked, a daring look to her eyes. Chat smirked at her determination  
“He’s dead.” He watched as all the color drained from her face, her hands raising to cover her mouth, her eyes, wide as saucers.  
“Wh-what?” his smirk grew to an evil grin  
“You heard me. Adrien Agreste is dead. He was a dead man the moment he set foot onto this ship. I killed him myself. Of course, he was a dead man walking, or should I say swimming, anyway. The poor bloak went and got himself caught in a hurricane, smashed his little boat to smithereens. The boy was half dead when the ship Miraculous first found him, I just merely put him out of his misery.”  
“You… you MONSTER!” she yelled. Chat shrugged  
“He was going to die anyway, it’s not like the Agreste boy knew anything on sea life in the first place.”  
“HOW can you BE so CRUEL?!” she was crying now  
‘No, please don’t cry, I might not be able to pull this off if you cry’ though his thoughts were gentle, his face was stern as he crossed his arms “I’m a Pirate m’Lady, the most fierce of them all, the dreaded Chat Noir… you’d do well to remember that from here on, got it?” she tried to wipe away the angry tears, but they just kept coming  
“What about me? Are you going to kill me too?” she asked, avoiding eye contact. Chat’s eyes widened in shock  
“And why, pray tell, would I ever consider harming one of the most beautiful treasures to be pulled from the sea?” he kneeled and raised her head with a gentle hand, her tear filled eyes wide with fear as she glanced at his gentle smile and kind eyes, a complete contradiction to the tone he just used on her. Her jaw dropped from the shock  
“I…I-I…” then she squealed as he scooped her up bridal style “wh-what are you doing?”  
“Relax” he answered at nearly a whisper “I’m just putting you back in bed” he pulled the blanket back, then laid her on the bed before covering her up again “I promise” he gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear “No harm will come to you as long as you’re under my watch” the switch between gentle, to rough, to teasing, to gentle again… she was going to get quite the headache if this kept up. “Sleep for now. When you wake up, I’ll have the maidens come and tend to you.” She glanced over to the hanging coat  
“May I… C-can I please… have my coat?” she asked meekly. Chat’s smile fell as he looked at the hanging memorial of who he’d once been. He stood straight and walked over to grab the coat. He paused to look it over, noticing how it still looked as good as the day he’d given it to her  
“You seem to treasure this coat… for some reason unknown. Why did you want so badly to give this back?” he asked, not taking his eyes off it, he noticed that some of the thread holding it together appeared to be green, but other than that, it was nearly like new  
“… if… if I was able to give it back to him, then that would mean… I’d… be able to see him again” he looked to see she had her knees pulled to her chin  
“But… you’d only met him once before… why do you care so much if you can see him again?” she sniffed, wiping her eyes and nose. “I mean, you left your home, all on your own, just to come look for someone who probably wouldn’t even want to be found in the first place, just to give him back this coat, so that you could see him again?” His eyes grew wide with a sudden recognition “just who is he to you?” immediately she turned her head to look him in the eye, her face a little puffy from the tears, however, the slight redness to her cheeks, he couldn’t tell if it was from crying or blushing.  
“I” she dropped her eyes, no longer brave enough to make eye contact “I… honestly don’t know. I know that… I really care for him. I would do anything for him, even lay down my life. I… I’ve never met anyone quite like him before… man… they’re, still quite a mystery to me… he was kind, and, generous. I… I l-like him… I really, Really liked him. I just… I just wanted to see him again, one more time, outside of my dreams.” She turned back to her knees, burying her face into the blanket covered ligaments, beginning to cry again. Chat sighed as he walked over and tossed the coat onto the bed. She sat up enough to see the coat, then she turned her gaze to the foot of her bed. He however, refused to look at her  
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you have misconceptions of your Prince. He… he was a coward, a weakling, he actually asked to die. He figured it was the only way to save his Mother. His last request… was that if I ever ran across you… to tell you… he did come back for you that day. But when he couldn’t find you, he’d about given up on life right then. He wanted me to tell you… he loved you.” He heard a gasp. He turned to see her eyes wide as her hands covered mouth, slowly shaking her head ‘no’. He cleared his throat, turning his back to her, hiding the silent tears himself “Anyway. That’s in the past. Adrien Agreste is no more” he walked to the door, stopping as he reached the handle “It might be best if you just… forgot about him.” He opened the door and paused, he could hear her sniffling “I’m sorry” then he left, closing the door behind him. 

He didn’t actually leave though. He leaned against the door. She was… she was bawling. He could hear her as if she was right beside him. It broke his heart. But he couldn’t have her continue to look for him, and now that he’s seen her again, he couldn’t let those stupid dreams keep him awake at night anymore. Now that he’s seen her… he can let her go… in his heart at least. It’ll be a week at most before they reach the next port, there, he could let her go free, to run off and find love somewhere else, to someone who deserves her… who could love her, and give her the best in life. What could he give her, after all? He was no longer a Prince, he was the dreaded Pirate, Chat Noir… “No. she deserves better” he mumbled to himself. He stayed like that until he couldn’t hear her tears anymore “she must have fallen asleep.” He creaked the door open enough to peek through, there he saw her, wearing his coat, sleeping like an angel. He sighed “Good night Princess”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much fun writing this... hope you like it =^_^=  
> okay, so whose POV would you like next?
> 
> Remember....  
> Like, Share, Bookmark, and comment, Comment, COMMENT!!!!  
> XD


	5. Playing Middle-Man (Mari, Nino, & Chat's POV)

Three days… it’s been three days since she found herself caught in that net. Three days since she put on these earrings. Three days since she woke up in a human bed, in human clothes, in a human room. Three days since she learned her love has died. Three days since she learned her capture was the one who did it… three days since she’d last eaten. Three days since she’d even spoken, let alone acknowledged anyone. Three days since her first tear. Three days of crying herself to sleep… Three days stuck in this bed because she doesn’t know how to work these STUPID legs!... it’s been three days since she last washed his coat…   
*knock* *knock* *knock* “Um… Miss Mari…” Marinette sighed and sat up as the door opened to reveal Nino poking his head in. Mari sighed again, averting her eyes to the other side of her. She the door close, she heard footsteps coming closer, she heard them stop, she heard something be sat down beside her, then her nose filled with the most welcomed aroma she’d ever smelled. Curiosity getting the best of her, she turned to see Nino standing at the side, a tray of food on the end table beside him. He stood there awkwardly, then scratched the back of his neck nervously “Look…” he started “It’s been three days now… you really need to eat something… if not for me, then… for Adrien” Mari’s eyes widened, filling with tears again “Ah , no man, look, don’t- don’t cry. Chat would kill me if he heard I made you cry” that dried her tears right up, her sadness quickly evolving into a furious anger  
“WHY WOULD THAT UPSET HIM?! HE’S THE ONE WHO STARTED ALL OF THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE! HE KILLED, LITERALLY, THE BOY OF MY DREAMS! WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO BE UPSET ABOUT?! JUST THROW ME BACK INTO THE OCEAN, I’D RATHER SOON DROWN WITH THESE STUPID LEGS THAN GIVE A FLYING-FISH ABOUT WHAT THAT, THAT… THAT... CATFISH THINKS!” Nino gulped, she was furious, and you could see the tsunami stirring in her eyes… he was terrified… if years of being with Alya had taught him anything… hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn.   
“M-Mari, please calm down”  
“WHY SHOULD I?!”  
“If you don’t, then Chat will hear you… do you” man he hated to pull this card “do you really want to see him like this?” she was still fuming, but at least she was quieter now. Finally she gave a final huff and crossed her arms in angry defeat. Nino let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. “Alright. Are you calm now?”  
“I guess” she spat  
“Okay, now, hear me out, okay?” she still wouldn’t look at him “Look, he… he just wants his mom” that got her attention  
“What?”  
“That’s why he’s out here. That’s why he’s… searching for a mermaid’s heart” she scoffed  
“If he thinks he can win a mermaid’s heart like this, he’s got another thing coming” her smirk fell, however, when she saw the serious face Nino had. Staring her right in the eye, he replied  
“Chat’s not looking to WIN a mermaid’s heart… he plans to TAKE it… by force” her eyes widened as her shaking hands came up to cover her mouth  
“Wh-what?” Nino looked up to the door, and seeing it was secured shut, he knelt down at the bedside and whispered  
“Look, I haven’t told anyone you’re a mermaid, and I don’t plan to… not even Chat. And you shouldn’t either. As long as no one knows, you’re safe” Mari looked at him quizzically  
“Why are you helping me?”  
“First off” he began “you said my girl Alya sent you, so I know you’re cool. Second” he looked to the door again, then back to the humanized mermaid “Adrien is not dead” Mari sat up so fast he was surprised she didn’t get whiplash  
“WHA-” he threw his hand over her mouth  
“SSHHHHH” he waited for her nod before letting go “look… Chat didn’t really kill Adrien… I know he’s still in there somewhere, it’s just… Chat thinks it’d be better if you thought Adrien had died”  
“Where is he?” she clung to him, a desperate look in her eyes, it broke his heart  
“He’s… Chat’s hiding him somewhere. Somewhere only Chat knows. And until he has the mermaid’s heart in his hand, and can return Adrien’s mom back to the land of the living… Adrien’s not going to come out of hiding any time soon”  
“Wait, you said… the land of the living? As in… she’s dead?” Nino nodded “But… that’s preposterous… mermaids can’t bring the dead back to life… we’re not God you know”  
“Wait, what?”  
“I mean, if we could bring people back to life, do you think I would have been leaking for the last three days?”  
“Leaking?”  
“I had water falling from my eyes”  
“Oh, that’s right, no tears underwater, huh?”  
“Tears?”  
“It’s what we mere mortals call the leaking from your eyes” he teased, lightening the mood a little  
“Mermaids are not immortal, we just know how to take better care of ourselves, and so we last longer” she shrugged. It felt good to smile again. “Anyway… you have to tell him the truth… even if he steals a mermaids heart, it won’t work on the dead”  
“NO!” his eyes grew wide “No, we can’t tell him”  
“Why not?”  
“The truth is… Chat Noir saved Adrien before, the Adrien asked Chat to help him locate a mermaid’s heart, but since he’s pretty much wanted and being hunted by his old man, Adrien went into hiding, leaving Chat to fulfil his job. Chat has been on this search for three years now. Even if you did tell him, he wouldn’t believe you. The dude’s fixated on this, he won’t stop until he has what he wants.”  
“Oh”  
“And do me a favor, would ya?” Mari looked to her companion “Don’t tell Chat, or anyone else that I’ve told you any of this, ya got it? As far as Chat knows, you still think Adrien is dead. It HAS to stay that way, comprende? That means you can’t just start acting different all of the sudden. First, eat something to gain back your strength, then work on learning to use those legs of yours… work on those first then we’ll figure out the rest later” he smiled as he picked up the tray, and sat it on her lap. “Common Dudette, eat up. Maylene made that chicken soup just for you… it’s her family specialty. Go, try it” he stated gently. Marinette hesitated a moment more before she sat up and took her first bite. Her eyes widened in amazement as she kept looking from Nino to the bowl of soup. Nino couldn’t help but to burst into laughter at her puppy-discovered-a-bug reaction as she began shoveling down the food. Nino quickly reached out to place his hand over hers, pausing her next bite “Slow down a bit, would ya? Now, I know Maylene’s soup is the bomb, but girl, you haven’t eaten in three days. If you don’t slow it down, you’re gonna make yourself sick, and you don’t want that, do ya?” Mari stared at her food a moment, then slowly shook her head. He removed his hand and she began eating again… much slower this time though. Once she was finished, Nino took her bowl and handed her a cup of fresh water.  
“Mmm, this is good… does all water actually taste like this?”  
“Actually no. the sea is way more saltier… this we’ve filtered, boiled, and stored away from our last docking.”  
“You must think I’m crazy, right? A mermaid not knowing what water tastes like?” Nino thought for a moment  
“Nah girl, I getchya. I mean, you live and breathe water, so… I guess it’d be like that for us and air… I mean, we breathe it all the time, so we never really take the time to appreciate it, you feel me?” Mari giggled  
“Yeah, I feel you” Nino stood to his feet  
“Well, you should probably go back to sleep. You’ll need to let your food settle if you really want to gather the strength to learn to walk. I’ll tell everyone not to disturb you before supper if you’d like” Mari smiled up at him  
“Thank you Nino”  
“Hey, it’s the least I can do for my best buds girl. You seem pretty cool. If we can get Adrien out of hiding… I just know he’ll love you” Nino chuckled as a blush began to show on her face. “Goodnight Mari”  
“Goodnight Nino” she watched as he made he closed the door behind him. That’s not what she had been expecting at all… Adrien was in hiding? Where could he be then? Nino was telling the truth… right? In either way, she was able to eat again, filling her stomach to its max, filling her with a warm and fuzzy sensation… or maybe that was just the idea that Adrien was alive. She smiled as she tucked herself back under the covers, and for the first time in three days… she welcomed her dreams with a warm smile and a happy heart.

It had been three days… three days since he saw her standing on his dock. Three days since he jumped overboard to save her when she fell into the ocean. Three days since he noticed who she was… and that she STLL has HIS coat? Three days since he told her he killed himself. Three days since he watched as the literal girl of his dreams fell apart… three days since she’d last eaten. Three days since she’d even spoken, let alone acknowledged anyone. Three days since her first tear. Three days of crying herself to sleep… Three days of utter torture to his soul at every wail he heard… three days too long. He was starting to get depressed. They had only ever met once, and yet… “She acts as if she’s just lost the very love of her life… refusing to eat… refusing to speak… what kind of foolish woman does that? Why is this effecting her so much?” he asked out loud to no one in particular.  
Chat knew she wouldn’t see him, so he called for, and asked Nino to check on her “get her to eat something if you can… we can’t have her stumbling around once we finally meet port”  
Boy she sure is stubborn… and loud, very loud. She was shouting, he could hear that plainly ‘Nino, what did you say to her?’ he thought in a panic as he made his way to her cabin. He was getting ready to bust in the door when  
“-WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO BE UPSET ABOUT?! JUST THROW ME BACK INTO THE OCEAN, I’D RATHER SOON DROWN WITH THESE STUPID LEGS THAN GIVE A FLYING-FISH ABOUT WHAT THAT, THAT… THAT... CATFISH THINKS!”  
His heart stopped, she was screaming about… him? But… why? He’d never done her any wrong, in fact, he jumped into the freezing cold ocean to save her ungrateful behind from drowning… or did she forget that already? What is she calling her legs stupid for? He actually thought they were quite beautiful… f-from what he had seen anyway… And what is she talking about she’d rather drown? Surely she doesn’t mean that, I mean… she hadn’t even heard him out yet… what could he have done to upset her so much? What could he have- ‘You heard me. Adrien Agreste is dead. He was a dead man the moment he set foot onto this ship. I killed him myself. Of course, he was a dead man walking, or should I say swimming, anyway. The poor bloak went and got himself caught in a hurricane, smashed his little boat to smithereens. The boy was half dead when the ship Miraculous first found him, I just merely put him out of his misery.’ … no, it… it couldn’t be that… he doesn’t even know the girl, so why would she be so upset to think him dead? To not eat, to not drink, to not talk… really, you’d think the love of her life- “No, no that CAN’T be it” Chat mused to himself. He noticed it had suddenly grown quite. He cleared his mind of thoughts to focus in… he couldn’t hear their words, but it was clear that the two seem to be talking civil with each other. Chat sighed as he released the doorknob and made his way back to his chambers.   
*knock* *knock* *knock* Chat looked up from his place at the map to see Nino enter through the door. “Well?” Chat asked, giving half his attention to his friend, half his attention to the map.  
“Well… she ate Maylene’s soup and drank the water. And she’s talking now, so…”  
“That’s good” Chat replied solemnly. Nino sighed  
“Common Adrien, how long are you gonna keep up this masquerade?”  
“Until I get my hands on a mermaid’s heart, I cannot rest”  
“First off, that’s bologna. You and I BOTH know just how much like a cat you really are, Mr. Smartypants, and secondly” Nino hesitated a moment too long for Chat’s liking  
“Second of all?”  
“Second of all” Nino took a deep breath in “It wouldn’t help… a mermaid’s heart cannot raise the dead” Chat froze in place before glaring at his best friend  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Marinette, she’s something of an expert on these things… she said that even a mermaid’s magic can’t bring back the dead”  
“Oh? And where did she hear this?” Chat spat as he began to stalk towards his best friend. Nino crossed his arms and rolled his eyes  
“Adrien, seriously Dude, you don’t scare me… I’ve had to deal with interrogative Alya… now THAT was scary. As for Marinette… like I said Dude, she’s an expert. If you really want to know, you’re gonna have to ask her yourself. I’m not a gopher, and I’m sure as Triton NOT going to become one… if you really want to know, you’re gonna have to suck it up, and Go. Talk. To. Her.” Nino finished as he began pushing Chat towards the door… Chat however, was having none of it and dug his heels into the floor, and quickly spun around, a look of panic suddenly on his face  
“ARE YOU CRAZY?! I CAN’T SEE HER!”  
“Well why not… you certainly had no trouble sending me”  
“She’s mad at me… I heard her yelling, and… I heard her claim it was my fault…”  
“Well yeah, I mean, I’d be mad too if the girl I loved told me she killed herself” Nino crossed his arms again  
“What? I never told her I killed myself, I-”  
“You told her that Chat Noir killed Adrien Agreste, didn’t you?” Chat’s eyes grew wide again before he reapplied the scowl to his face as he folded his arms over his chest  
“And why should that even matter? She only met the boy Adrien one time-”  
“And yet” Nino cut him off “She returned to that dock every day to try and give you back that coat, until she finally met Alya, who then told her what everyone else believes… that Adrien Agreste is missing” Chat had been pacing the floor, trying to wrap his head around what his best bud was saying. “So what does she do? She abandons whatever home life she has to come out and try and save your sorry be-hind, she’s been searching for years, just trying to find the nice boy who threw his coat at her instead of high-tailing it out of there, JUST so he could talk to the beaut. Then suddenly, one could only assume there must have been some sort of accident, because she was caught… in a fishing net… she’d been swimming around in the ocean for who knows how long, wearing nothing but the exact same coat she had planned to return, for comfort.” Chat fell into his armchair as Nino began pacing towards him “Suddenly, the man of her dreams is actually in front of her… she’s finally found him… and what does he do? He not only DENIES ever being said boy, but he tells the girl that, in fact, he actually KILLED him… now, this poor girl is locked up in a room she doesn’t know, surrounded by people she’d never met, depressed, and to top it all off… she’s trapped there, can’t do anything about it, because she CAN’T WALK.” Adrien’s eyes flew to the man in front of him with complete shock overtaking him  
“What do you mean, she can’t walk?”  
“You seriously didn’t realize she’s literally bed-bound?”  
“I thought she was just refusing to cooperate… why can’t she walk? She was standing with you when I first saw her on deck”  
“Uh, yeah, and do you know how hard that was for her in the first place? She spent too much time in the water Adrien… her legs are not strong enough yet to hold her own weight… sorry to say this, but, if you really plan on just, dropping her off at the next port, you may want to make sure the girl can walk first. Otherwise, you’re pretty much forcing her to become a beggar… or worst” Nino knew it was a low blow, but gang-nabbit if he was going to let his friend just throw away his own happiness for an unmanageable cause… “It’s kinda hard to fight off predators without the use of your legs” there, he’d said it. He’d let it stir over for a while, let it sink into the dumb Pirate’s brain the danger he could be putting, the literal answer to his prayers, through if he were to just leave her like this. Adrien shot to his feet, and without another word, left the cabin room, leaving his second in command to hope he was doing the right thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Phew* that took forever... sorry guys, and thanks for the patience =^_^=  
> I was going to work on it Sunday... then I got called into work...  
> I was going to work on it yesterday... then I got called into work...  
> so yeah, in case you couldn't tell... I'm a working adult, who just happens to like writing/reading fanfics for this all popular kids show... but in my defense, I have my Associates degree in Digital Media Graphic Design, sooo... yeah, it's what I do.  
> Thank you all for the lovely comments, keep 'um coming if you want more =^_^=  
> So tell me... what do you think Chat is going to do? Where is he going? Did Nino get through to him?  
> Kudo's if you can guess it right ;)


	6. Who's Hugo? (Chat's POV)

He was doomed, he knew that from the start. From the first time he laid eyes on her four years ago in that lake, he knew that he was doomed to never look at another woman the same way again… he did go back… once, but… she was gone, nowhere to be found, no trace of her ever existing in the first place aside from his missing coat. He was doomed. He knew it when he searched high and low for her that day, but she had just vanished… honestly, he started wondering if maybe his mind had just made her up… it was the anniversary of his mother’s passing after all, and he was feeling pretty lonely, and, dare he even say it, a little depressed. He was doomed. How could he have thought she was a ghost in his mind? How could he have written her off so fast? How could he just leave after a single day of searching for her… he should have gone back the next day… she said she was there… he should have waited… but, given the chance, if he could choose again to wait for the mysterious girl a day more, or journey to find a way to save his mother… even knowing she’d be there… WOULD he choose differently? No. no he would not. He had given the strange girl up. She was just a phantom anyway, and even if she WAS real, surely someone else would be a better suitor for her… right? He was doomed. Nino just wouldn’t shut up, seriously, unless he was imagining to talk to Alya again, he really had no right talking out loud like that… Oh boy was he doomed. Never in his wildest dreams would he think he’d see her again, standing there in nothing but an old coat, talking to his second in command… surely he must be dreaming again, they were in the middle of the ocean for Pete’s sake, but the… Nino was talking to her, she looked at him, full of fear and began to back up. He was doomed. He nearly had a panic attack as he saw her flip overboard. He was going to lose her again… No… he CAN’T lose her… not again. He acted before thinking, stripping to his under layers and jumped in after her, relieved when he was able to catch up to her, grabbing ahold of her solid form… she was real… she was real, and… IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN?!?! She had started to go under, panicking as she began flailing around. He had caught her just in time and pulled her up for air. She coughed couple times before she went limp in his hold. His eyes widened in panic as he checked for a pulse… good, he found it. He quickly pulled them over to the lifesaver and made it to Nino in the life boat. She was still out when then made it back on deck, yet her shivers were all too real… he really was doomed… that coat, he recognized it… mind you it’d been a few years, but how could one ever forget the symbol you’d grown up with all your life stitched into the front pocket of said coat? No, it couldn’t be, and yet… Nino confirmed the very thing he was afraid of… it really was her… after all this time, after all those dreams, after all these years… he’d finally found her, however… He was doomed. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he wasn’t about to give up these last four years of effort to bring his mother back for some girl he didn’t even know… even if she was to most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. No. he’d given all that up the day he became Chat Noir. He didn’t know how long it would take, heck, he may never find a mermaid at all, dying a slow and lonely life, searching his whole life for the miraculous cure… but he already knew that… Gramps Plagg had made sure he knew all the details before permanently docking on Treasure Island to retire… yes, Chat knew what he was getting into when he signed on for this role, and at the next port, he’d release her, freeing her from a life at sea where any number of dangers could be lurking, you know, plus… he really didn’t want to have to jump overboard again to save her again… He knew what he had to do… yes, this would be easier. He’d set up that she had somewhere to stay and then be on his merry way, never stopping until-… she said his name… she said… Adrien. He was doomed. He just, not only broke, but literally shattered the heart of the literal girl of his dreams, and it was killing him… yes, it had to be done… she couldn’t keep pinning over a part of him that no longer existed, so… he killed him, or at least, that’s what he told her…. It broke her. He wasn’t dumb, he wasn’t blind, but he WAS stupid… he should have known hearing her every tear every night would only shove his own metaphorical dagger further into his heart… seriously, she met him ONE TIME!!! HOW can she STILL be crying over him? He was doomed. She became quiet. Jeuleka came in saying that she refused to eat. Rose claimed she refused to drink. Alix stated she refused to talk. And Maylene reported she refused to rest with her sleep… it had been days. Oh, he was doomed alright, doomed to be under constant anxiety, constantly wondering if she had accepted anything at all yet. It was maddening not hearing any reports. He HAD to know she was okay, she HAD to be okay. So he sent Nino… who later returned to tell him that the girl apparently couldn’t walk? Poor kid just can’t catch a break now can she? Reckon, part of it was his fault… oookay, so, all of it was his fault, but seriously… who would have thought she’d actually find him again… he honestly thought he’d never see her again…  
Chat Noir hastily made his way to the mysterious girl’s quarters, just in time to see Maylene closing the door, disrupting his line of thought. “Oh, Captain” Maylene stated with a gasp at the shock of seeing the dreaded Pirate heading her direction  
“How is she?” he asked rather coldly  
“She’s sleeping right now… and what a relief… poor thing actually hasn’t been sleeping that much since boarding, nor would she eat, or even talk to anyone. I was actually starting to get worried. I don’t know what happened to put her in such a state, but I’m glad it’s finally over. Nino came earlier and gathered a whole slew of food, said he was going to try and get her to eat something… I was quite surprised when I went in to check on her and saw that every dish was empty by her bedside. I don’t know what Nino did, but he truly is a saint for finally getting her to at least eat. Honestly, if she still refused after a week, Ivan would have had to take drastic measures.”  
“I see…” Chat pondered as he observed the tray of dirty dishes in her hands “if that’s the case, please make sure to have a proper dinner for her ready for when she decides to wake up.”  
“Yes Captain” Maylene bowed. Chat however, scowled  
“Maylene, I’ve told you countless times, you don’t need to bow to me… I’m not the Prince or anything like that” he face-palmed with a sigh  
“I know, but it’s my way of showing you my respect” the smaller girl replied with a smile. “If you’re going to visit her, please do not wake her up, and maybe see if she’ll eat anything else once she wakes up on her own” and with that, Maylene left, heading back to the kitchen below deck. Chat took a deep breath and raised a fist to knock  
‘Okay… you can do this Chat… she’s just a girl, nothing special.. you just happened to have been literally dreaming about her for the last seven years, and didn’t even try going back to find her before running away in the first place, and made her feel obligated to return your jacket to you, and had to save her from falling overboard into the ocean from scaring her and completely broke her heart… gosh I’m such a jerk’ he thought to himself with a scowl. He decided to forgo the knocking and just entered through the doorway… ‘She’s beautiful’ Chat thought as he stood frozen in place. She was sound asleep under the blankets, her hair splayed out over the pillow. The sight took the Pirate Captain’s breath away. Her gentle breathing was so peaceful, it began to calm his racing heart and soul. Then she moaned as she turned to her side. Chat quickly turned away, coving his mouth in embarrassment… she was wearing his coat… she was sleeping, while wearing his coat… Chat quickly ran out of the room, shutting the door a little too hard, before leaning back against said door, his heart pounding a thousand miles a minute, his eyes wide as saucers, his face as red as the setting sun… “I’mdoomed” he mumbled, banging his head on the door, before following Maylene’s path down to the kitchen.

Chat Noir returned twenty minutes later with a tray loaded with hot potato soup, fresh bread, some cubed fruit, and a large glass of water. She was still asleep and he couldn’t help but to marvel at the wondrous site before him… he gently sat the tray down on the end table beside her bed, and, without a sound, made his way over to the lounge chair over in the far corner. He sat there… watching her… ‘Gosh, she looks so beautiful… and so at peace… is that a smile I see? I wonder what she’s dreaming about… maybe she’s dreaming about that little kid too-‘ Chat sprang to his feet and began pacing the floor… back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ‘There is absolutely no way she could be dreaming that dream, I mean… that’s MY dream… I’ve never heard of anyone SHARING dreams before’ just then she moaned in her sleep as she began to turn onto her other side, her smile growing on it’s own.  
“Hugo” she murmured in her sleep… but he caught it.   
Hugo? Who was Hugo? Maybe a guy she knew from back home? A boyfriend maybe? A husband? Figures… he knew it was too good to be true, and yet… they were in the middle of the dag-gone ocean for Pete’s sake… if she had a family, WHY would she go so far just to see him again? Did she really hate the coat that much? ‘I mean, she’s clearly the most beautiful creature in the whole world, of COURSE she would be married already… how else would she be able to keep all the pigs and wolves off? And if she is married, then surely she MUST be a mother… and with a mother as breathtaking as her… it doesn’t matter how disgusting the father looked… just based on her alone, her daughter MUST be absolutely stunning. Then again, I can’t see any father in their right mind handing off such a wonder-of-the-world off to just some creepy old man, so… he must be pretty handsome too, maybe even a model… that would suite her. Someone financially stable, with a large house and yard, a tree swing out back for their little girl… she must make fantastic feasts for her family. They’d eat together, then after putting their little girl to bed, they’d go out onto the porch, stare at the stars, and talk to each other about the future, before heading back in for the night, stealing chaste kisses here and there… she left her husband AND her child… Why would she do that? Did she choose to on her own? Or perhaps her husband sent her, trying to rid his house of another man’s presence with my coat… my coat…’ he paused in his pacing and looked over to the sleeping girl as she subconsciously wrapped his coat more securely around her, burying her face into it and taking a deep, calming breath. Curious, he walked over and lightly picked up her hand (totally ignoring the heated needles he felt at the contact), brought the sleeve to his nose, and sniffed… it smelled like him. His eyes widened as he quickly scanned the room, finally he spotted his bottle of cologne sitting over by the rack where the coat had been hanging to dry. He gently put her hand back down and made his way over to the bottle… one touch to the mouth of it told him that it had been used recently… “Rose”… she was ALWAYS doing this… she took whoever’s clothes and applied a hint of their chosen smell so as to make it easier to tell whose was who’s apart. ‘I guess since Rose couldn’t ask her what perfume she preferred, she just chose to use mine, or… maybe she thought the coat mine… either way…’ Chat looked over to find the girl wrapped in peace, a gentle expression on her face as she nuzzled more into the coat. He frowned ‘Does she not love her husband? She keeps smiling into the coat, as if-‘ his eyes widened as he began to theorize ‘perhaps her husband… doesn’t love her’ Chat’s frown turned into a curious rage ‘so help me… if that low-life dirt-bag is abusing her… there will be hell to pay! What if THIS was her only way to freedom? What if things were so bad, she had no choice to leave to try and seek my help to save her and her daughter? Prince Adrien must be her only hope for survival. Or what if her daughter were sick?’ his rage gave way to concern ‘if her daughter is sick, or her lowlife husband, how far is she be willing to go for them? Of course, she’s seeking me to beg for help with the medical bills… why else would she willingly leave her perfect life behind unless’ he fell back into the chair again, cradling his head in his hands ‘No… there’s no WAY father could have found her… is he using her, BLACKMAILING her to find me for him?’ and the rage was back ‘all this time, she was just following orders, whether they’re my fathers or her husbands, she has NO right being here in the first place.’ He continued to stew over his thoughts, staring at the sleeping beauty in front of him with disgust at what she was clearly forced to do… ‘they have NO right making her do this! I WILL be getting to the bottom of it’. Just then, she stretched as she began to sit up. She gasped and her eyes grew as she noticed he had been staring at her   
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked as she pulled the coat tighter around herself, as if it alone could protect her from the world. Internally, Chat’s heart had just skipped a couple beats, his palms were sweaty and he his mind was practically screaming just how much her wearing his coat like that made him want to take everything back. Externally, he was as cross and nonchalant as ever. “Why are you staring at me like that? What do you wan-”  
“Who’s Hugo?” he interrupted her with a scowl.   
“What?”  
“I said…” Chat rose to his feet, placing a dark power in every step he took towards her “Who is Hugo?”  
“What are you talking about? I don’t know any-”  
“Is he your husband?”  
“WHAT?!” pure shock and confusion shown from her face  
“Why did you leave them?”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Your husband and child. Why did you leave them?” Chat began to pace  
“But I don’t have a-”  
“What could you possibly gain from seeking out the Agreste boy? Is your daughter sick?”  
“Daughter?”  
“Is your husband beating you?”  
“What? No! I Don’t even have a-”  
“Are you being blackmailed?”  
“Where are you getting this?”  
“Was it the King? Did he send you?”  
“Captain-”  
“What? Is he holding them for ransom?”  
“CAPTAIN-”  
“I wouldn’t put it past him. If you want true evil, then look no further then the-”  
“CHAT NOIR WILL YOU JUST STOP IT?!” he stopped to look at the bedridden girl. Her eyes were closed tight, her fists were at her sides and her teeth were grinding together. She took a deep breath then stated “Look, I don’t know WHERE you got such crazy ideas but… one. My daughter is not sick, because I do NOT have a child, in fact in order to have a child I would need a husband, which brings us to number two… I am NOT married, henceforth no one is abusing me, and the King has no one to hold against me, which leads to number three… I have not now, nor have I ever seen the Kings face, let alone spoke to him… I wouldn’t know him if he came on board this very moment. So no, the King did NOT blackmail me into coming… in fact, the king knows absolutely nothing about me, and I intent=d to keep it that way… believe me, you don’t have to tell me the King is evil. Word travels far across the ocean. Nobody sent me. I came on my own, by my own choice, because I wanted to see the boy who gave me his coat again. I wanted to see his eyes again, to thank him personally for the wonderful gift, and to tell him how much it meant to me.” Chat fell back into the armchair  
“But… Hugo…”  
“WHO in Atlantic is Hugo?” she asked dramatically. Chat sprang to his feet again, staring her straight in the eye  
“That’s what I’d like to know. You say you came here looking for Adrien, yet you clearly called out for Hugo in your dreams, are you sure HE’S not the one you love?” Mari’s eyes grew wide  
“I SWEAR, I DON’T KNOW ANY HUGOS, IN FACT, I DON’T REMEMBER ANYONE ELSE FROM MY DREAM BESIDES ADRIEN!” well, she still remembered to child, but HE didn’t need to talk know that. Chat’s scowl turned into a shocked blush  
“You… dream about him? A-Adrien, that is” she turned her eyes to her folded hands in her lap  
“For as long as I can remember, he’s haunted my every dream… you told me you killed him… I don’t believe you. As long as I have this dream… I refuse to give up on him” they both sat in their own places, silence the only thing between them as each was lost in their own thoughts. Finally Mari asked “So what are you doing here? Did you just come to question the imaginary family you gave me?”  
“Ah, no… actually…” he scratched the back of his neck “Nino told me that you couldn’t walk, so-”  
“So… what? You thought you could just waltz on in here and spy on me while I sleep?”  
“I wanted to offer to teach you to walk again” her jaw dropped the slightest bit  
“Again?”  
“Look… like it or not, you can’t stay here on the ship, hence I’ll be dropping you off at the next port. Hence, you need to be able to defend yourself so you don’t end up a beggar. I may be a Pirate, but I’m not heartless you know. Hence, you NEED to know how to walk, so… starting tomorrow, we’ll begin practice at dawn.” Mari just blinked at him  
“Okay… one too many hences.” Chat just rolled his eyes as he placed the tray of food on her lap.  
“Here… Maylene just came by less than an hour ago with fresh food, so it should still be warm. Eat up. You’ll need all the strength you can get to use your leg muscles” Then he rose to his feet and sighed as he headed towards the door. Then, without another word, he left her alone in the cabin room to enjoy her meal while he made his way across the ship to his own quarters. Once there, he shut and locked the door, made sure the windows were covered, then slid off his ring, releasing the magic charm, taking away the black leather outfit, mask, ears and tail, and leaving behind a very exhausted Adrien Agreste to fall backwards into his bed. He sighed as his arm flew up to cover his eyes “Mom… what am I supposed to do now?” he asked out loud, even though he already knew no one was there to answer him “It’s been years, and yet, even now this girl haunts my dreams, night after night… and now, she’s only a walk away… I could see her whenever I want, but… I can’t give up on you. But since I’ve seen her again, I… can’t get her out of my mind… gosh, I don’t even know her, I don’t even know her name… she’s a distraction, and one I can’t afford to lose, so… as soon as she can walk again, I promise, I’ll make sure she has a safe place to stay, and… When you come back… I’d like you to meet her… someday… that is… if she’ll still have me after all of this is over… Who am I kidding? She’ll never have me, I mean… I told her I killed myself, as Nino put it… how could she ever forgive me when she finds out what a liar I am? No… she… she has to go…” he rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes “I have to let her go” then he drifted off into dreamland, where a beautiful woman holding her stomach and her two children were waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience.  
> Heads up, Confusion and Angst coming up in the next few chapters, however, this is all part of the plan, and keep in mind... this is only chapter 6, we're still in the beginning of the story... reveal will be closer to the end (for anyone who's wondering)  
> Okay, so... the Miraculous'... the ring and earrings ARE magical, even though there are no Kawamiis (although I was thinking of giving them a pet to NAME Kawamii... what do you think, puppy, kitten, or bird?) The ring gives Chat a leather Pirate suite as well as a mask, working cat ears and a tail, while the earrings make Marinette human, giving her legs and new strength (she just has to learn how to use her new legs first). When taken off, Chat reverts back to Adrien, While Mari would become a mermaid again... just in case there was any misunderstandings...  
> Remember... share, like, kudo, and COMMENT!!!  
> (no seriously, your comments let me know others are actually reading it, as well as inspires me to keep going... and sooner) ;)  
> :3


	7. Begin the Walking Lessons (Mari's POV)

Marinette awoke the next day to the bright morning sun shining through the doorway as Chat made his way into the room, making his way over to the windows around the room… she threw her head back onto her pillow “Good morning Princess. I hope you ate and slept well because starting today” he flung open the curtains of the first window, making his way to the next “once you are properly dressed and have a proper meal in you, we will begin your walking lessons” then he flung open the second set of curtains. Marinette groaned as she made quick to cover her entire head with her warm blanket, blocking out the blasted evil sun who dares interrupt her beautiful dream of walking on a beach with Adrien. Marinette felt someone trying to shake her awake… she growled  
“Go away” she groaned  
“No can do Princess. Now common, it’s time to get up. Rose should be coming by any second now with your dress, and Maylene and Ivan have been working on making breakfast for the past three hours…” she curled herself closer together, refusing to show her face… she just wanted to get back to her dream… it was such a lovely dream… but apparently, Chat had different plans, as she suddenly felt someone trying to snatch the blanket away from her. She clung to it for dear life  
“Nnnoooooooo” she moaned. They played tug-a-war with the blanket for the next few minutes as she still refused to open her eyes. Suddenly she felt his release, heard him sigh, then his footsteps getting farther away, then the door closing behind him. Marinette smiled at her victory as she snuggled in closer to herself, reentering the land of her dreams.

Marinette woke up with a start, springing up in bed, eyes wide and full of shock as she frantically glanced around, eyes finally landing on the devious Pirate who wore a devilish smirk as he held the now empty bucket in one hand, his other resting on his hip. After a moment, Marinette was finally able to figure out just what had happened “WHY THE EEL DID YOU THROW WATER ON ME?!” she asked, completely furious as droplets of water slowly made their way down her face and hair  
“Well, nothing else was going to work… I DID warn you… it’s not MY fault you didn’t believe me”  
“YOU DID NO SUCH THING!”  
“Ah, but I did. Of course, you WERE hiding in the blankets at the time… do you not specifically remember me telling you that your lessons would begin at dawn?” he quirked an eyebrow as he folded his arms, still holding the bucket “It is now past that, in fact, it is nearly noon… I’m afraid, Princess, that your days of sleeping in as late as you want, must now come to an end” He threw a towel to her as he began heading to the sitting chair “I’ll have you know that since you didn’t wake up in time, your breakfast has grown cold, hence, cannot be eaten… I expect, Princess, you be grateful to Maylene and Ivan for saving you a spot of lunch, which, if I’m correct, is currently on its way up at this very moment. Now, dry yourself off. Rose is coming back any moment to help you dress, unless… you think you can manage on your own” then he grabbed the waiting dress and tossed it over to her. She squealed when it hit her face unexpectedly as she was drying her hair. He quickly turned away to cover his sudden smirk and laugh that threatened to break free, which quickly fell and was replaced by a blush when he heard the ruffling of clothes behind him. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure “You alright there Princess?”  
She paused her changing, staring at his back, a slight scowl on her face “Why do you keep calling me that? I have a name you know” she asked as she began to dress again  
“Oh really? Well, honestly, Princess suits you. You’re stubborn, preppy, beautiful, spoiled, did I mention stubborn? Besides… You never told me your name, and I had to call you something” he called over his shoulder, never turning his head away from the door. She paused again, but this time, the scowl fell, forming into a small frown… he was right. Chat Noir… the Captain… was probably the ONLY one on the ship that she hadn’t told her name. He was right on one thing… she was stubborn. She wouldn’t deny it. She knew it as a fact, and she KNEW why she didn’t WANT to tell him, but… she supposed it only make sense for him to come up with a nickname for her since he didn’t know her name… she sighed as she made up her mind… she mumbled as she continued to dress  
“Marinette”  
“What?”  
“My name is Marinette… you can turn around now” Chat turned around to find her in the beautiful blue dress… only to be covered by that blasted coat again. Chat sighed as he pinched the brim of his nose  
“Princess, is the coat really necessary?”  
“I told you, my name is Marinette, and yes… it’s a comfort to me… I will learn to walk, and once I do, I will find Adrien, walk right up to him and give it back to him personally… until that day however, it does not leave my being”  
“Fine” Chat began walking back towards her bed and held out a hand for her  
“What are you doing?” she asked, not quite sure what the dreaded pirate must be thinking  
“I’m offering you a hand M’Lady. The first step in learning how to walk, is to learn how to stand first.” He rose one eyebrow in anticipation. Marinette looked from his hand, to his face, to his hand again. She sighed as she shook her head and placed he hand in his. His grip was firm, yet soft. He seemed rough, yet his touch, his actions towards her were so cautious, as if she were something fragile that could break at any moment. Why is he acting… so gentleman like? Chat Noir seriously was confusing her. His tone said one thing, but his actions said the complete opposite… what is he hiding? “You do realize that you can’t get out of bed when the blankets are still on you, correct?” she blushed in embarrassment as she threw the blankets away, and shot Chat a scowl. Chat had to concentrate very hard NOT to crack a smile at the girls scowl… seriously, did she think she was scary? Quite the opposite actually, he could honestly say that he had never seen her look so cute in all the time he’d known her… recon, that hasn’t been that long, but still… Chat cleared his throat “So, are you just going to sit there or what? Or perhaps… would you like me to give you a hand there Prrrincess?” he smirked  
“NO!” Marinette shouted as she snatched her hand back, spun herself around and stood straight up by her bed… or at least… she tried to… unfortunately, she STILL isn’t used to having legs and not a tail, and you don’t really put that kind of weight on a tail when you’re constantly in water, soo… she fell… that is, she started to fall forwards, seeing the floor coming closer, she closed her eyes, as she braced for impact… it never came.  
Chat was actually startled when she snatched her hand back like he had just told her she had to pet a porcupine… it was just a joke, didn’t she get that? Even more so when she spun around and proceeded to hastily stand in place… a little too hastily. His senses finally came back to him just in time to catch the girl from reaching her painful doom. He held her in place as he began to stand her back up, holding her up by the sides of her shoulders “Seriously Princess, what were you thinking? You’ve literally been in bed for almost a week, and the first thing you do is jump to your feet like that? I mean, I get it that you may want to see just how strong these arms are, but really, all you have to do is ask” he teased. Marinette’s face grew nearly as red as her Grandmother’s tail  
“Wh-WHAT?!” she tried to pull back from him, “AhH!” only to result in falling backwards back onto the bed. Oof! Chat went to hurry to help her again “DON’T TOUCH ME!” she curled in on herself. Chat looked baffled  
“Geez Princess, it was only a joke” Chat stepped back, avoiding eye contact as he scratched the back of his neck. “Look” Chat began, still refusing to look at her “I honestly mean you no harm, and I’m not going to let anyone else harm you either… you don’t have to be afraid… that’s one of the reasons I’d like to make sure you can walk before we get to the next port. I’m not just going to leave you defenseless, heck, if you’d like, I could teach you some self-defense. Just… Please… Please look at me Princess” Mari slowly lifted her head to see Chat on a knee, looking up at her, a look of hurt and remorse painted on his face…  
honestly, he looked just like little Manon when she’d been caught with her hand in the sea kelp jar, yet still trying to use her cuteness and huge baby-doll eyes to get out of trouble… Mari tried… she really did try to keep that smile from gracing her lips, but… she just couldn’t help the giggle that broke free as she covered her face with both hands “Oh Chat” Mari shook her head lightly as Chat began to pout out his bottom lip. Mari sighed “I suppose, as long as you don’t try that again… perhaps we could… try again?”  
“If you mean the teasing… I make no promises” Chat shrugged with a small bashful smile, then he rose to his feet and offered her his hand again. She quirked a brow at him “Fine…. But just for today. Now, let’s see about getting you to your feet, shall we?” satisfied, Marinette gently placed her hand in his, completely missing how his breath caught and how he had to clear his throat to get his mind back on track “So… are you ready this time?” she nodded as she moved her legs back over the edge of the bed and he took her other hand once her feet came inches from the ground. He then proceeded to gently, carefully pull her to stand on her own two feet, not releasing her until they were both certain she could stand on her own “Steady now… steady” he stated as he slowly released her to stand on her own. She began to wobble slightly as she gained her composure, then, with her sands spread to her side, she was able to keep still. A joyous smile gracing her lips  
“I did it! I did it! Look at me Chat I’m Standing! I’m- woah!!” Chat jumped in front of her, having her fall onto his chest, into his arms, a look of panic across his face  
“Are you alright?” he asked as he gazed into her eyes. Mari blinked dumbly  
“y-yes, I’m fine” she whispers  
“Uh… am I interrupting something here?” the two look towards the open door to see Nino standing there, gawking at them like he just saw a tuna give birth to a whale. Chat quickly stands her back up, and clears his throat… however, as she wasn’t expecting the sudden movement, the moment he let go she fell backwards onto the bed again… nearly going off the other side this time. Nino openly laughed at the sight playing out before his eyes “You alright there dudette?” Mari quickly righted herself and pulled the blanket over her head like a child during a thunderstorm.  
“Nino” Chat cut in “What are you doing here?”  
“Maylene asked me to come and check if Mari was finally ready for breakfast… what are YOU doing here?” Nino asked with a raised eyebrow, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the door frame… oh there is no way he is letting Chat live this down  
“We were just having walking lessons. She had just righted herself up when she fell, naturally, I just stood in the way so she wouldn’t fall to the floor, but instead fall on me” Nino’s smirk grew as Chat’s face grew redder realizing what he just said “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!”  
“Sure it isn’t loverboy. So Mari, think you’re up for that breakfast now?” Mari poked her head out from under the blanket and nodded “Alright. Captain” Nino turned his attention to Chat “Isn’t it about time you started heading to the main deck to relieve Nath? Poor dudes been sailing this load of wood all night, probably getting pretty tired.” Chat sighed  
“Yeah, I guess your right” then he turned to face Mari, crouching down to her eye level “are you going to be okay Princess?” Princess?  
“Uh, y-yeah, m-maybe Jeuleka or Rose can help me again later” Chat smiled as he took her hand and brought it to his lips…. Oooooooo, there is no WAY Nino is going to let Chat live THIS down. Mari pulled her hand back and pushed him away at his nose “Uh, yeah no… only Adrien can touch me like that, so… goodbye” then she threw the blankets over her tomato-red head again. Nino just watched in complete humor… teasing rights for the rest of their lives. Then the two men left the room as Maylene came through with a tray of piping food.  
“So… Princess?” Nino teased, bumping the captain’s shoulder as they walked  
“shutup” Chat mumbled back, trying to control the quickly spreading blush as they made their way up to the wheel, sending Nathaniel of to bed for the “night”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first off... THANK YOU all SSOOOOOOO much for being patient and putting up with me.  
> I hope you like this chapter. Sorry it's not as long, but... I feel like what's to come next should have it's own chapter... so how would you guys feel about the Tomato's POV?
> 
> In other news... TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! WOO-HOO!!! (and No, I'm not fooling you) so once I actually go to sleep (because it's like... 12:46am right now) and wake up again, I get to have lunch out with some friends, then we're all going to see Beauty and The Beast... Gosh I can't wait... got a new dress and MADE rose jewelry for it ant everything, so... yeah. TTYL =^_^= Loves <3  
> Oh, and Don't forget to like, Bookmark, Kudo, Share and comment Comment COMMENT!!!  
> Seriously, I LOVE comments, and, yeah, I'd consider that an AWESOME Birthday gift ^_^  
> 


	8. The Artist and The Mermaid (Nathaniel's POV)

Tired… the boy was tired… and exhausted… EXTREMELY exhausted. He’d been at the wheel alone all night, trying to navigate through the cloudy night sky, barely able to see any stars for guidance of safe travel… the Captain had FINALLY come to relieve him, telling him that he could go to bed now… so he headed to his bunk… but he didn’t go to bed. Instead he pulled out his box of letters, a fresh clean parchment, and a new quill and ink… it had been two months since they last saw land, and if he didn’t update their status daily to report back… the boss was going to be mad. So he wrote. He wrote about their latest heist, he wrote about where all they’d been, he wrote about the food poisoning he got from sneaking a bit of meat before it was finished cooking, he wrote about directing the ship, he wrote about the newest crew member, and he wrote to say there were no new reports on finding the lost Prince. Chat hadn’t let a single thing slip about the boy… never… not once. Nathaniel KNEW Chat Noir knew SOMETHING about Prince Adrien’s whereabouts, that and/or his first mate Nino, but they never spoke about it. It had taken Nathaniel MONTHS to even FIND the dreaded Pirate in the first place to even CONSIDER asking to be part of his crew… and you know… for being known as THE most feared and deadly Pirate King on the Seven Seas… he sure was trusting. Really, all he had to say was “My home life sucks, I want adventure, and I’m willing to do anything” and he was in. He spent the next week getting over his seasickness, and the next two years learning the ropes on how to sail, and now FINALLY, he was able to steer the ship single-handedly, in the middle of a hurricane, without getting lost. He could only pray it wasn’t all for nothing. Nathaniel groaned as he tried to think of ANYTHING that might have slipped from either of the two heads… ANYTHING!!! Then he remembered the new girl… Marinette… when Chat had saved her, Nino had said she had been searching for… Adrien…  
His head shot up. Could this be it? Could this be the answers he’s been looking for? Could SHE have the answers he’d been looking for? Quickly, he put away his reports, grabbed his drawing journal and started towards the guest cabin.

When Nathaniel had first gone to visit the girl, he truly wasn’t expecting what he first saw… she was beautiful. In fact, she was probably, without a doubt, the most beautiful being he had ever seen. His eyes were wide as his jaw dropped… as well as his journal and quill, startling the girl currently in her bed. “U-um… hello. Who are you?” Nathaniel mentally slapped himself back into place  
“M-me? Oh, I’m N-Nathaniel” he stuttered… Why did he stutter? She smiled sweetly up at him  
“It’s nice to meet you Nathaniel, I’m Marinette… would you like to come inside?” she quirked an eyebrow. He jolted as he realized he had been standing in the open doorway this entire time. He quickly scooped up his journal and pen from the floor and spun around to shut the door. He took a deep breath to steady himself… he came here for a reason… it didn’t matter how drop-dead gorgeous she is, he came here for information and he wasn’t leaving without it. He straightened his posture and turned back around to face the bed-ridden angel… he was doomed.   
He gulped as he made his way across the room. “So, uh… y-you said your name was M-Marinette?” she nodded politely “so, uh… what… wh-what were you doing alone in the m-middle of the ocean anyway? In only a coat no-less” he was currently looking at said coat… ‘she still has it on? It’s been weeks’ just then he spotted the crest embroidered above the chest pocket… ‘so it’s true… she knows Prince Adrien’. Suddenly her eyes saddened slightly… and Nathaniel regretted ever bringing it up  
“I was… looking for someone… A friend, I guess you could say… see, he lent me a special artifact and… I had hoped to return it to him, but… no one back home had seen heads or tails of him in so long, so… I decided to search for him myself.”  
“Is it Prince Agreste?” Mari brought her knees to her chest as she avoided eye contact “It is, isn’t it? I’m… I-I’m sorry to tell you this but… P-Prince Agreste… he’s dead”  
“You’rewrong” she mumbled into her legs  
“I’m sorry Miss Marinette but I’m afraid it is you who is wrong. He died… a-at the hands of the Captain” he had no idea that Chat had just told her the same thing before, he was just trying to throw her off the trail… and if she happened to become cross with the Captain and willing to open up to him more… who was he to get in the way? She was glaring at him, the scowl on his face reminding him of the Piranhas his father use to keep as pets  
“No he didn’t. Adrien is still alive and well. I know it. I don’t care what any of you say… Adrien is alive.” Nathaniel seemed intrigued  
“You seem so sure… do you know where he is?” she turned away  
“No” he heard her answer  
“Then how could you possibly know he’s still alive? For all you know he could be on the bottom of the ocean floor by now” she swung her head around so fast he’s surprised it didn’t snap… she looked mad  
“I can personally guarantee you, he is NOT dead in the Ocean! Adrien is ALIVE! I KNOW IT in my HEART! And until I find him, I will NEVER stop looking… I don’t CARE about his FATHER, his TTILE, his RICHES or even WHY HE LEFT IN THE FIRST PLACE! ALL I WANT is to see him again… WHY CAN’T ANYONE UNDERSTAND THAT?! I KNOW, FOR A FACT THAT ADRIEN AGRESTE! IS! ALIVE! And I don’t CARE WHAT YOU, OR STUPID CHAT NOIR, OR ANYONE ELSE SAYS ABOUT HIM BEING DEAD! I! DON’T! BELIEVE YOU! NOR WILL I EVER! Look… I know people don’t live QUITE THAT long, I KNOW you’re not immortal… BUT NEITHER AM I! I CAN DIE JUST LIKE ANYONE OF YOU, IN FACT, THAT’S THE ONLY REASON I’M STILL ON THIS STUPID BOAT!” she ended with a screech… she was mad, no… she was furious (did she have FENGS?!). suddenly, the door burst open  
“Alright Chat, if you’re tormenting the poor girl again I’ll- Nathaniel?” Nino looked between the furious Mermaid and the cowering Tomato head, his gaze turning cold on the boy “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”  
“N-Nino, what are y-you doing here?” Nathaniel asked cautiously. Nino quirked a brow  
“That’s supposed to be MY question Dude, and CLEARLY, I heard my dear friend here yelling her little head off, so I had come to save the Captain from her claws”  
“What about me?” Nathaniel’s face suddenly turns white as a ghost as Captain Chat Noir himself steps in right behind his first mate. Chat takes in the scene before him. Noticing the furious to the point of tears girl, his best friend with a cautious sneer, and finally “Nathaniel. Why are you here?” Marinette glances at the three men before her from the sides of her eyes before completely turning away. Nathaniel gulps at the way the Captain doesn’t seem too happy about her sour mood “Nino, what’s going on?”  
“I came in because I could hear Marinette screaming all the way down in my bunker, I assumed you had made her mad again and I was going to have to save your butt. As for why Tomato is here… I’d like to know the same thing” Nino crossed his arms defensively… Nino had called her friend… Chat seems to have taken offense to her bad mood (and not against her)… Marinette CLEARLY didn’t want to talk any- oh no… oh no… ohnoohnoohno! … Oh Starfish… he had disturbed the Captain’s guest, and the first mate’s friend… he’s shark bate…  
“I-I uh… I-I j-just wanted to, t-to talk, I-uh… didn’t, d-didn’t mean to o-of-ffend anyone. I-I’ll uh, g-get out of your way now” he bent down and grabbed up the journal and pen that had, yet again, fallen to the floor during his shock of the girl. “I’m uh, I-I’m sorry, Miss M-Marinette” and he stared towards the door. She took a deep breath in   
“look… and this goes for everyone…” he stopped in his tracks at the sound of her voice, which seemed to also capture the other men’s attention as well “If Adrien would have died at sea… he never would have made it to the bottom of the Ocean… the Sirens would have gotten to him first, and they have to report every being they capture… dead or alive… Iwouldhaveheard” she mumbled at the end. She was still turned away, refusing to look at either of them. If she would have she would have noticed…  
1\. Nathaniel’s confusion on what she meant and how she could be so sure  
2\. Nino’s surprise to find that, not only did Mermaids exist, but apparently Sirens too?! But… weren’t they the same thing?  
3\. Chat’s shock.  
She was talking about Adrien… about HIM again, about how she KNEW he wasn’t dead, but… she said it was for everyone, so, that would include… Chat looked over to the stuttering artist (since when did he stutter?) and he gaze grew cold. What had they been talking about? “Princess, I humbly apologize for any rude remarks my humble sea mate might have said, and you have my personal word, that it will NEVER happen again.” Her back was still turned, so the Captain kept his eyes on the intruder the entire time, his gaze burning like a forest fire. Nathaniel gulped as he began making his way through the door again, running for his cabin as soon as he was free from the room.   
Chat sighed again as he turned towards Marinette with sad eyes, she still wouldn’t look at them, and Chat could barely make out a sniffle… his blood began to boil in his veins. “Again, I do apologize Princess, and I can assure you, the matter WILL be handled immediately. Please rest easily tonight as I shall guarantee no one else comes in tonight without your given consent” he bowed, even if she couldn’t see it. Her sniffles paused, he looked up, still in his bow, disappointed that she still hadn’t turned around… what did Nathaniel say to her?  
“thankyou” she mumbled  
“But of course” Chat left the room  
“If you need anything Mari, just call, okay?”  
“ThankyouNino”  
“Sleep tight Mar-bear” Nino made sure to shut the door behind him quietly. He didn’t know WHAT that stupid tomato had said to her, but this was the first time she wouldn’t even turn to HIM… it concerned him. Not long after, Nino had found Chat in his office going over the map  
“I’ve told the staff to not bother Marinette for the rest of the night without her given consent” Chat stated without looking up. Nino hummed in acknowledgement “Nino? Go get Nathaniel, I believe he and I need to have a little talk”  
“Only if I get to be in the room at the time” Nino stated with his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe  
“Deal” Nino left immediately.

Ten minutes later Chat heard the door open abruptly from behind him as he looked out the window. He waited until he heard the door close before he spoke. “So Nathaniel… would you mind telling me exactly what you and Miss Marinette had been disgusting that it would make her so upset that she’d refuse to even turn when we enter to see why she had been yelling so loudly” he heard a gulp  
“Dude, you’d better tell the truth now… UNLESS you WANT the Captain to find out from Mari herself.” Chat turned around to find Nino glaring at the confused redhead, arms crossed across his chest. Nathaniel gulped as he looked back and forth between the two other men. Chat glared at the suspected man. Nathaniel straightened his posture and took a deep/cleansing breath   
“I beg your pardon Captain. I only wished to show her some of my drawings in hopes to cheer her up. Based on what I’ve been hearing, it seems as though she’s been in a depressed state for a time after being brought on board.” Nathaniel glanced at Chat, knowing he was the reason behind. Chat however, turned his eyes to the floor by his feet. Nathaniel smirked. He’d hit a nerve. “I’m not exactly sure how it happened” he continued “but somehow she began talking about some “Prince Adrien” I guess she called him. Apparently he ran away from home and the girl was trying to find him before coming aboard. Naturally I figured she must have been talking about the Lost Prince I’ve been hearing about at all the last recent ports, but according to the reports I’d gotten… the boy is dead.” Chat stiffened… Nino straightened up… Nathaniel noticed “I tried to tell her he was dead, but she just kept assuring me that he was alive, so… I asked her if she had any proof-”  
“And?” Chat asked, hard-gaze held on the poor artist “Does she?”  
“… No.” Chat’s shoulders dropped as he fell off the balls of his feet… hmm… “So I asked her if she knew where he was… again, no. So I asked her how she could be so sure, and she said that she just KNEW in her heart that he was still alive, then she exploded on me about how she just KNOWS that he’s alive and she won’t stop looking until she finds him, and that yes, she can indeed die and apparently that’s the only reason she’s still on this boat, then Nino came barding in and you know the rest.” Chat fell back into his waiting chair, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose, then he sighed  
“Is that all?”  
“Yes Captain” Nathaniel crossed his arms “If you don’t believe me, you can always just ask the girl yourself”  
“No, no that won’t be necessary…” Chat thought for a moment as he sighed “You are dismissed”  
“Thank you… Captain” Nathaniel bowed as he closed the door behind him. Nino scowled as he left… he never did trust that boy. Chat waited a good five extra minutes before he spoke again  
“Nino, go and verify what Nathaniel has said” Nino crossed his arms  
“As much as I’d love to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, if Nath was telling the truth and YOU were brought up… I’m gonna say she’s probably crying herself to sleep right now, if she hasn’t already.” Chat looked down in shame as Nino sighed and his arms fell to his side “Look. Let her cool off for tonight. I’ll talk to her first thing tomorrow morning if you’d like.” Chat nodded.  
“Thank you Nino… for everything”  
‘Man, you don’t know the half of it’ Nino thought to himself “Sure thing bro. Anything for my best –dude”

When Nathaniel returned to his bunk, he quickly pulled out a new piece of parchment and wrote down everything that had just occurred, including a very descriptive telling of the girl. He was just about to place it in with the rest of the notes that were to be sent to the Boss the moment they reached land, but… for some odd reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Frustrated he flipped the page over on his desk and then began pacing the floor. Five minutes later he sat back down and pulled a parchment over to begin sketching… a surefire way to help him calm down. Nathaniel’s mind was swimming as he absentmindedly allowed the quill pen to stroke the paper before him. Suddenly he heard a loud commotion coming from above his head, pulling him from his stupor state, and finally allowing him to notice just what he’d drawn… or rather… WHO… Nathaniel blushed near as red as his hair… it was HER… with great, specific details he had DRAWN her… this girl who had been plucked from the ocean, set bound determined to find the lost Prince, and somehow… weaseled her way into the back of his mind. Nathaniel picked it up for better inspection, when he noticed the light was showing something else on the back. He quickly turned the page over to find… his last entry… ‘Well then… looks like I won’t be sending THIS update’ Nathaniel thought as he tried NOT to imagine what could happen to the beautiful girl should the boss have a visual to go by. Groaning, he ran a hand over his face as he climbed into his bed, hiding the well-drawn sketch under his pillow for safe keeping… ‘she knows something, and maybe, if I can befriend her, she could aide me in the search, and possibly take down Chat Noir as well’. Nathaniel smirked as he finally fell fast asleep.


	9. First Steps (Mari & Chat POV)

What was she doing? Barely still a guppy, yet traveling around the world? With (useless) legs… On a PIRATE’S ship no less…  
What was she doing? Trying to find a mysterious stranger, just to return a silly coat? What if Chat was telling the truth? What if Adrien really was-  
What was she doing? Doubting herself like this? Doubting HIM?  
What was she doing? WHY was this so important to her? Was she really just chasing after some… DREAM she’d been having since she was a little girl? What would Grandmother say?

Marinette woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. She had just begun to stretch when she heard a light rap against the door "knock knock, can I come in?" Chat peeked his masked face on through the crack on the door. Mari sighed and nodded. Chat straightened back up and entered through the doorway... tray in hand "here. Maylene thought you may like some of her famous chicken dumplings" he stated as he sat the tray down at her end table before taking a seat at the foot of her bed. Marinette quirked an eyebrow with a frown  
"Why are you being so nice?" Chat sighed  
"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I should have been there to stop it and I wasn't. It was never meant to happen. I spoke with Nathaniel. It will never happen again. I promise." Marinette blinked at him  
"Why DID it happen? I'm sorry, I know you can't watch everyone at every time, but... did you go around telling your WHOLE CREW that you KILLED Adrien?”  
“WHAT? No. That would just be completely insensitive. Look… you and Nino… you two are the only ones I actually told. It was… just the two of us that day… he literally asked me to end his days. I’m sorry, but-”  
“Whydoyoukeeptryingtolietome?” she mumbled as she looked down to her lap, tightening the coat around her  
“What?”  
“I know you’re lying. Why do you keep lying to me?” she looked up to look him in the eye, causing Chat’s breath to hitch at her suddenly too sad bluebell eyes “I know he’s alive. I feel it in my heart. He’s still alive. He’s out there. I WILL find him, and when I do… I can finally return his coat back to him. Then, I’ll… r-return home, and… probably never see him again…” her eyes fell to her hands, which had been fidgeting together unbeknownst to her. Her eyes widened as suddenly a larger hand came into view and gently rested atop her own. She looked up to find a conflicted looking pirate Captain  
“So you’re telling me that you left your home, traveled an ocean, and boarded a Pirates ship, just to… what? Return a coat, and never speak to him again?” she was shocked at the gentleness in his tone “You don’t have any alternative ambitions for being here? For wanting to see him? You’re not just looking for a hand-out? Or seeking the crown?” Or-” Mari frowned at that  
“Stop. Look. I don’t know why you’re always thinking I’m after something like that, but it needs to stop” if he could be rationally calm about this, then so could she “No. I don’t have any alternative ambitions for seeing him. I just wanted to thank him properly” her gaze fell to the sleeve of the coat as she began to play with it “The truth is… I don’t really need anything from him like you think. Back home… my family, we’re pretty well off, so I don’t need any hand-outs, and if I wanted a crown… well, I wouldn’t have even needed to go anywhere for that” her gaze was still down on the coat, so she completely missed Chat’s own eyes widening in shock as his jaw slightly dropped… she had no need for his crown… she wouldn’t have needed to go anywhere to GET a crown… she… oh… so THAT’S why he couldn’t find her again that day… she must have been visiting his Kingdom with her family, and had to leave urgently… perhaps her advisers had found her and forced her back with her family… seaweed knows how many times he’d had that very thing happen during his younger years, because being alone was forbidden in foreign countries… because it was too dangerous… because should he have been taken, they could have gotten a pretty ransom… because he was… because she was… Chat thought back to all he knew about the girl in front of him… her beauty, grace, temper, mannerisms, determination… there was no doubt in his mind… she’s a Princess. She’s royalty and she left EVERYTHING behind her… to look for HIM? “Where I come from, it’s basic policy… if you borrow something, you return it. That’s that.” She shrugged  
“Marinette, I…” he sighed, glancing down as he joined their hands “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you had to leave everything behind, just to look for a boy you would never see again. I’m sorry I can’t let you see him again, I’m sorry he wouldn’t come out, even for you. And I’m sorry… but as long as Chat Noir is alive… Adrien Agreste is dead. But I promise you this… I have not now, nor have I ever before, nor shall I ever brag to anyone about taking the boy’s life. He was a fighter… he felt trapped, but he still fought for what he believed in. everyday. No matter what. He may have been a coward, but he knew what he was doing, and did it anyway. If he were to be with us here now, I’d say… he’d probably be more confident, able to stand on his own two feet. Be the leader he was always meant to be. And… Idon’tthinkhe’dwantyoutoleavehim” he mumbled at the end, chancing a glance up at her from under his messy bangs. Mari was blushing  
“Chat… I-”  
“Enough about that” Chat quickly rose to his feet “I believe, my dear Princess, that we are late for your walking lessons” he took one step backwards, still facing her, and held out his hand, with a slight bow and a small smirk on his face. She glanced up at him from her spot on the bed. “You don’t want to be stuck in this bed forever, do you?” she turned her head away from him, trying to hide her burning blush (but doing so very poorly)  
“I’m scared” she barely whispered… but Chat caught it  
“What?” he was baffled, what could she possibly be scared of? Had Nathaniel really ruffled her up so much? Or worst… had HE done something to frighten her?  
“I…” she pulled her knees up to her chin “I’veneverdonethisthingbefore” she mumbled into her legs  
“What? Trust a pirate?” he was grasping at straws here, hoping… PRAYING that he wasn’t what was causing her fear. She turned to look at him, looking slightly confused  
“I’ve been doing that since I boarded this ship Captain… no” she turned back to her legs “walking”. The Pirate captain was shocked ‘did… d-did she just say that she’s never… walked?’ “What? I mean, you obviously have wonderful legs that work, so you’re not lame, and I know for a fact that you’ve stood… multiple times for myself… How can you not know how to walk? I mean, it’s one of the first concepts a child learns… some even before speech-”  
“Are you quite done?!” she asked sternly, her entire top half blushing from embarrassment “You don’t have to keep on about how your infants can easily master the concept. I’ve always preferred swimming, that’s all. That’s all you need to know on the subject. The fact is, I want to be able to do more than just stand there and make Adrien come to me… and I ESPECIALLY DON’T want him to see me… l-like this… I want to be able to walk to him and personally deliver his coat to him… THAT’S the ONLY reason I’m willing to go through this… training, as you call it. But it seems that every time I try… I just end up straight on my face, or flat on my rump, then either Rose, Jeuleka or Maylene has to help me back up into bed…”  
“You’ve been practicing on your own?” Mari sighed  
“I tried” Chat blinked, then he stood tall, brushed off his pants and re-offered his hand to the bedridden girl  
“Maybe you just need a better tutor” Marinette glanced from his eyes to his hand… she took a deep breath, tightened the coat around her, removed the covers, and turned her body, leaving her feet to hang off the side of the bed just before she takes his hand. Her eyes squeeze tight and her free hand shoots out to try and balance herself as she goes to stand, awaiting the inevitable fall to her doom… however, that’s not what happens. She feels her free hand being directed to be parallel to her other. After what felt like hours, she realizes that not only is she still standing, but her legs have stopped wobbling… “You doing okay?” she chances a glance. Chat’s just standing there, gently smiling down at her, both her hands in both of his. “Sorry, it’s just… you were saying that even infants can master walking and… well… this is how my mother taught me to walk when I was little… she would take both my hands and direct my steps, but you’re a little taller than a toddler, so holding your hands above your head isn’t going to work… is… is this okay?” she nods dumbly and he sighs in relief “I must say, I’m impressed, as far as I know, this is the longest you’ve been able to hold yourself up.” Their silent for a moment “You think you’re ready to try taking steps?” she nods again. Honestly, what was she supposed to say? She was at a complete loss for words “okay. So… we’ll take it slow… baby steps as you call them. Take your right foot, and step towards me.” Mari gulps but proceeds anyway. Her foot wobbled a little at her first step, but Chat’s hold keeps her steady, and slowly, the wobbling stops “Good. Now the other foot” again, she took another step, staring at her feet “Good. Now the right” she took another step “Good. Now the left” still looking down, she began to smile, she was doing it “You’re doing well. Now, look up” she felt a gentle hand lift her chin. Her eyes widened in shock at the action “Keep your eyes on me” she swallowed as she nodded “right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.” to be honest, she wasn’t actually listening to him anymore, in fact, the only reason she even know he was still talking was because she could see his lips moving from the bottom of her vision… heck, she hardly recognized she was now moving with grace (still slowly, but no stumbling), as she had become lost in the captain’s brilliant green eyes. She could feel her face heating up slowly, but she couldn’t bring herself to care anymore… had his eyes always been so captivating as a riptide? “Princess… look” he whispered for only her to hear. She blinked, seeming to come back to the real world as she realized they were both now standing in front of the closed door… wait… when had he let go of her hands?  
“I made it?” she asked  
“You did” her smile grew to an earsplitting grin as she giggled, suddenly so overcome with joy. Before she knew it, she had jumped for joy, however, at the landing, her ankle twisted, causing her to fall straight into the embracive arms of one Chat Noir. “Woah, you okay?”  
“Uh, y-yeah, I just- EEP!” she squealed as she felt her feet suddenly be swept out from under her. Her arms rush to wrap around the Pirate’s neck as he carries back to her bed. He sits her down before he squats before her, taking her foot and carefully inspecting her ankle for sign of a sprain  
“Does it hurt?”  
“N-no…”  
“That’s good” He stands to his full height, helping her back into bed “I’ll let Maylene and Ivan know you’re ready for lunch” he made his way over to the door, pausing just before it, turning to face her, his face a light tinted pink “You… you did great today. If Adrien were here, he’d tell you that… he’s proud of you… but he’s not. Because he’s dead. So… I’ll say it… I’m proud of you M’lady” then he made his way out the door, leaving behind I slightly confused secret mermaid.

```

What was he doing? He was supposed to be a dreaded Pirate king… terror of the seas…  
What was he doing? So far, he’s jumped into the ocean to save her, gave her, her own room, offered to teach her to walk… heck, he was even tempted to throw Nathaniel overboard for making her upset… that was another thing… WHY does her being upset affect him so much?  
What was he doing? Treating her so nicely like that… What? Just because he’d seen her in a dream? What was he supposed to do… give up on the whole reason for the trip? Move to a deserted island? Marry the girl? Have a child with her? Maybe a little girl… with beautiful, long, dark hair like her mother’s, her sea green eyes lighting up as she plays with the family cat, while he himself stands behind his lovely wife, hands on her swollen stomach as they watch the soon-to-be big sister playing Pirate as only little Emma would-  
What was he doing? He was TRYING to get RID of her. To get her to leave. To protect her. To get her away from himself, less he fall into temptation and fall in lo- NO! No, he CAN’T afford any more distractions. He had a plan… find the mermaid, take her heart, and wish his mother back to life.  
So what was he doing? Arguing back and forth with himself… letting small glimpses of his old, weak self peek out around the girl… questioning if this whole thing was even worth it? What would Gramps Plagg say?

Chat ran a hand down his face as he groaned while sitting back into his desk’s chair. “justwhatisitaboutherthatmkesmewanttojust…”  
“Well, for one thing, she’s pretty, kind, smart, cool, quirky… just your type of girl Bro”  
“Nino… ever hear of knocking?” said boy walked over to sit across from his best friend/captain  
“Actually, I did. You were just so caught up in Mari land, you didn’t hear me” Nino quirked an eyebrow as he smirked. Chat groaned again “So…”  
“She has to go” Nino looked shocked before the shock morphed into irritation  
“What? Why? Dude, No. She has literally done NOTHING wrong, heck, how CAN she? She’s stuck in a BED for crying out loud.” The look Chat gave him confused the second-in-command for a moment… before it finally hit him “you don’t actually want her to go” Chat avoided his gaze “So why are you trying to push her away like this? Adrien, Buddy, Dude I’ve met her, and honestly, I think she’d be great for you. Look, you two obviously have this chemistry between you both, heck you even have history together, reckon its only a day’s worth, possibly even only an hour, but… that’s gotta count for something. Look… I’ve seen you when you’re around her… you seem more-”  
“That’s why she has to go. Nino, for years, I’ve been sailing these seven seas, just TRYING to find a way to bring her back… YEARS Nino… And now you want me to just give that all up? No. I can’t… Look, maybe if I could have found her again that day… things would have been different… but I didn’t. I found an old man who told me how I could save my mother. So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past how-many years… risking my very life out here, as a wanted pirate, facing off against old friends and new foes, fighting for my life, just TRYING to find the prize my heart’s been seeking for all this time. It’s too dangerous a life for her. She’d be better off back on land. Heck, I bet she could even survive on a deserted Island… but I would never do that to her. Marinette… I’m a pirate, not heartless, at least… in a sense.”  
“Dude… don’t you know how long she’s been crying about you? Crying FOR you? She just wants to see you again, then, heck, she may even leave on her own” ‘lets hope that’s not the case’ Nino finished in his head  
“… I know” Chat whispered as he hung his head “I know Nino. I hear it… every night. And every night… it kills me. It kills me that I can’t tell her, but I can’t.”  
“Why not?”  
“Well for one, she’d hate me. Heck, she already does. As she should. She NEEDS to hate me, that way she can leave this ship and not even think about looking back. For another, I refuse… REFUSE to put her in harms way… I already lost one woman from this life… I don’t plan to… actually LOSE another. I’m a pirate Nino… what kind of life could I POSSIBLY offer her that she can’t already get back at home? And finally… Nino…You have no idea how easy it usually is to keep this whole ‘I’m a tough guy and could kill you’ mask on so much, but lately… I don’t know why, and… I can’t explain it, but… no matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, how intimidating I try to become, or what I could possibly spout out at her… the moment she begins to cry… or remain quiet… blatantly ignore me… or even just give that faint little smile… the moment she yells at me or answers with that soft tone so full of… detest… It’s just, like… I don’t know… my resolve breaks, and suddenly it’s like… I’m…”  
“She brings out the Adrien in you” Nino stated mater-of-factly as he clamped a hand on the captain’s shoulder. Chat shook his head, trying to clear his mind  
“I’ve often found myself feeling jealous of the others, who get to see her real smile. And yet, I nearly threw Nathaniel overboard for making her cry”  
“We still have time for that you know” Nino winked, causing Chat to hold back a laugh  
“Yeah well… … … Igottoseeonetoday”  
“What?”  
“Her smile. Her real smile… I got to see one today. This morning actually. She… I was showing her how to walk and… she was doing really well. Heck, I even let go of her hands half way to the door… She walked, on her own, for half the room Nino, and when we finally made it to the door… her smile could outshine the Northern Lights, putting every star to shame… I got to see it Nino, directly between the two of us… her and I… I got to see one of her real smiles, and… no dream I could ever have could compare to the real thing.”  
“So…” Nino began with a smirk “You admit to dreaming about her?”  
“… Since I was seven”  
“Wait, seriously?” Nino looked shocked as he sat back down by his best friend “Seriously Dude? You’ve actually been dreaming about her? Like, HER her? How come I never heard about this?”  
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was important. They started before my mom passed, but I never really thought they’d come true. The first time I actually saw her… after I couldn’t find her again, I figured it must have been another dream… a fantasy I’d come up with, but… now that she’s here… I can’t… I refuse to let anything happen to her. The moment we set foot on port, I’m getting her a room to stay in, and finding her a tutor to teach her to walk… she can’t stay here… she just… can’t…”  
“… you really care about her, don’t you?” Chat Noir stayed silent in his chair before he rose to his feet and headed for the main deck without a word, leaving Nino to put the pieces together… FINALLY being able to see the puzzle coming together… he once again found himself wishing, not for the first time, that Alya were there with him, helping him to see the whole picture in her dumb-it-down-for-me ways… man he missed that girl. Nino left the Captain’s quarters, heading back to his own cabin in hopes to writing another letter home… they still had about a week till they reached the next port, giving him plenty of time to explain EVERYTHING that had been going on, and then translate it into the secret code the two had come up with when they were just kids… and maybe this time, when they dock, he could actually send it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all like it  
> Thanks for the patience  
> Don't forget to comment, like, and share  
> Loves  
> <3


	10. Sirens and Songs (Alix's POV)

She scoffed. Three years… it’s already been ten years, almost to the DAY since she’s seen high end of her relatives. Three years since that man had come home drunk and angry, once again, and decided to take it out on her and her poor mother while her brother was away at school. Three years since he crossed the line. Three years since he’d beat and used her dear mother so much she stopped moving. Three years since, not having enough, he turned to her. Three years since she’d had her innocence taken away by force, over and over and over again. Three years since she’d finally had enough. Three years since she last heard him scream. Three years since she sat in her room, trying to wash the blood out of her clothes. Three years since her brother had come rushing into her room, falling to his knees and thanking every power above that she was alright. Three years since he saw her first shed tears of joy as she relied that he could never hurt them again. Three years since her brother’s eyes widened at the meaning behind her smile. Three years since the guards came rushing in at reports of a man screaming. Three years since Jalil took her bloody shirt and rubbed it all over himself, quickly pulling her into a hug. Ten years since she watched her beloved brother be taken away, claiming that HE had killed their father in a blind rage. Three years since he looked to her one last time, knowing it WOULD be the last, and told her “Be strong. No one can hurt you now” before he was taken away to the gallows. Three years since her home was claimed to pay for ‘that man’s’ MANY debts, leaving her all alone and homeless. Three years since she turned to theft and trickery just to survive. Three years since she figured out that she was pretty good with a sword. Three years since she fell asleep in that empty barrel while hiding from the guards again. Three years since Chat Noir found her. Three glorious years since she vowed to NEVER step foot in that land, EVER AGAIN.  
Alix scoffed as she made her way to the guest cabin. Chat could try to teach the girl to walk all he wants, but even THAT wasn’t able to help HER when her own… she dare not call him ‘father’, took her innocence by force. And seeing as how the captain was so Bound Determined to drop her off at the next port, Alix deemed it only appropriate to teach the new girl a thing or two on self-defense… for both standing AND sitting positions should the need arise. It would be another week until they reached port, and Alix was bound determined to teach her as much as she could. Although Alix may never admit it out loud… she’d actually taken a liking to the girl. She always told such odd stories, (like how her father got into a fight with a seagull over their dinner while hunting, or when her grandmother had once accidently turned her hair blue with a new concoction she had been working on, but… wasn’t able to get it all out it seems) and her singing actually tended to calm Alix’s restless soul at times (even if she’d only heard the girl through a cracked doorway… for some reason, the girl just plain refused to sing with any sort of audience… knowingly). Alix shook her head. She had to admit… Marinette really was a good friend to have (SO WHY DOES THE CAPTAIN WANT HER GONE SO BADLY?!). She knocked on the door before hearing permission to enter in.  
“Hey Mar, ready to start?”  
“Oh. Hi Alix! Are you here to visit sweet Marinette too?” Rose asked excitedly. Alix laughed  
“Actually, I’m here on training purposes, so if you wouldn’t mind…”  
“Oh! OF course!” Rose turned back to Marinette “It was SUCH a pleasure talking with you, we should do it again!” Mari giggled  
“Rose, you say that as if we haven’t been talking in weeks. Same time tomorrow?” Mari asked  
“It’s a DATE! See you later Mari! Bye Alix”  
“Laters.” Alix called out as Rose closed the door behind her. “Okay. So. You seem to be picking up well on hands on sitting position… how are your walking lessons coming?” Mari didn’t answer. Instead, her eyes grew and her deep blush spread from her face to her neck “O-kay. Alright, that’s fine. How about standing? Are you good with that?” the girl seemed to calm down enough to nod “Great! Then lets get started.” Alix pulled out her two stashed wooden daggers, handing one to Mari and keeping the other to herself as she waited for the girl to stand in place “Great! Now… I’m gonna come at you from the front while YOU try to avert it, got it?” Mari nodded as Alix got into position. Alix swung to “stab” her, causing Mari to try to dodge to the right, resulting in the high squeal as she fell to the floor “Woah, you okay there Mars?” Alix asked as she helped her friend back to her feet  
“I’m fine” Marinette answered “Just… this is a LOT easier sitting down” Alix laughed  
“Yeah well, you’ll never be able to dodge a fast anything if you can’t even sway back and forth without falling over. Common. We’re gonna master this. Got it?”  
“Okay” for the next hour Mari and Alix worked on ridding her vertigo by having the secret mermaid tilt over as much as she could (without falling over) to the right, before switching to the left, and back again.  
“LAND HO!” they heard being called from the main deck. Alix looked taken aback  
“Wait… Ithoughtwestillhadanotherweektillport…” Alix looked out the window to find… her old home? But how? “This doesn’t make sense, I-I thought we were on the other side of the ocean, we shouldn’t be anywhere NEAR here, how… h-how is this POSSIBLE?” Alix looked over to see Mari had sat herself back down… good. She should go see what’s going on “Mars, stay here, I’ll be right back” the moment she opened the door, a faint song was heard coming in “What in the world?”  
“Alix, come back here” Alix turned to see Mari’s eyes wide and full of… was that fear?  
“Chill Mar, I’ll be right back”  
“No, You Don’t Understand! PLEASE, You HAVE To-”  
“It’s probably just Rose serenading Jeuleka again”  
“NO, IT’S NOT! PLEASE ALIX, I HAVE TO- ALIX?! ALIX!”  
Alix made her way to the main deck. Everyone seemed to be readying themselves to deport for the block of land, but… no one was making a sound, and… weren’t they going way to fast? If they kept up THIS speed, they may just crash into the port. Chat was up at the wheel, steering towards the island with a determined look to his eye. Alix was just about to ask what was going on when she noticed the other woman of the ship come up with confused looks. All their mouths were shut though, so… where was the singing coming from, and, was it getting LOUDER?  
“ALIX!” all eyes turned to see Marinette stumbling around, trying to reach her friends  
“MARINETTE?!” All the women ran to her aide  
“STOP, WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!”  
“WHO?!”  
“THE CREW! THEY CAN’T LEAVE THIS SHIP! WE CAN’T GO TO THAT ISLAND! WE HAVE TO GET BACK ON COURSE, NOW!”  
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BACK ON COURSE?!”  
“THAT ISLAND… IT’S NOT REAL!”  
“WHAT?!” all the woman stated in unison  
“PLEASE, WE HAVE TO HURRY! IT’S AN ILLUSION! IF WE KEEP GOING, THEY’LL REAL US ALL IN FOR AN EARLY DEATH!”  
“WHO?!” Alix asked  
“THE SIRENS!” the women stood there looking at her like she was a ghost, did she just say…  
“CRAP! OUT OF MY WAY!” Alix pushed her way through as she rushed to the Captain “CAPTAIN?! CAPTAIN?! CHAT WAKE UP?! DARN IT CHAT, YOU’RE UNDER A TRANCE! WAKE UP!” he ignored her, continuing course on towards the so-called land “CHAT, I’M SORRY FOR WHAT I’M ABOUT TO DO, BUT YOU’LL THANK ME LATER!” with that she side shouldered him straight off his feet as she quickly took control of the wheel, just in time to swerve before hitting a large rock. She looked over to see Chat trying to get back on his feet to resume his place at the wheel. Thinking fast, she kicked him hard against the jaw, causing him to fall backwards again. “GIRLS! THE GUYS ARE ALL UNDER A TRANCE! WE NEED TO GATHER THEM UP AND STOP THEM BEFORE THEY PULL SOMETHING DUMB AND TRY TO DEPORT! MAYLENE! I NEED YOUR STRENGTH” said chef came running up, along with “IVAN?!”  
“WHAT DO YOU NEED ME TO DO!?” Alix smiled wickedly “USE THOSE BIG CHEF ARMS TO STEER US OUT OF HERE!”  
“GOT IT!”  
“MAYLENE, HELP ME TIE UP THE CAPTAIN!” Maylene looked pail  
“B-BUT I-”  
“HE CAN’T BE ALLOWED UP AGAIN! NOW ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME OR NOT!?” the ship swerved as Ivan steered, avoiding the sharp rocks, most likely meant to be their doom  
“ALIX!”  
“MARS?!” Somehow Marinette had managed to crawl her way up the stairs, a look of concern on her face at the sight of Chat Noir bound hands, legs and feet. Alix and Maylene quickly rushed to get her back on her feet “ALL THE GUYS, EXCEPT IVAN APPARENTLY, ARE IN A TRANCE! EVEN IF YOU KNOCK THEM DOWN, THEY KEEP GETTING BACK UP! TRYING TO RESUME WHAT THEY WERE DOING… I HAD NO CHOICE!”  
“NO, NO YOU DID GOOD ALIX!” Mari looked around, seeing all the women below surrounding the now struggling, tied up men “WE HAVE TO DISTRACT THEM!”  
“AND JUST HOW DO YOU SUPPOSE WE DO THAT?!” there was only two ways to break this curse, but only one Marinette would actually be able to do  
“WE HAVE TO DROWN THEM OUT!”  
“WHAT?!”  
“WE HAVE TO SING!” Correction, SHE had to sing. But if she were the only one singing, it would cause a lot of questions that she just wasn’t ready to talk about  
“WELL THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! SING!” Alix ordered. Mari took a deep breath  
“Between the here, Between the now” it was soft, yet it carried, and Mari could only hope the others knew it “Between the North, Between the South”  
“Between the West, Between the East” Alex joined in “between the time, Between the place”  
“From the shell” Maylene began to sing with them “The song of the sea. Neither quiet nor calm, searching for love again. Mo ghra” the girls began to notice the men seemed to stop squirming. Rose and Jeuleka looked up to them, hearing the song and realizing what was happening, they nodded and joining in the next verse, adding a perfect harmony  
“Between the winds, Between the waves. Between the sands, Between the shores. From the shell. The song of the Sea. Neither quiet nor calm. Searching for love again.” The Sirens were growing quieter as Ivan steered them farther away from the dastardly illusion, Maylene sticking by his side, as all quieted to allow Marinette to finish the song herself  
“Between the stones, Between the storms. Between belief, Between the seas. Ta me i dtiun” just in time for the ship finally be set right again. Rose and Jueleka rushed up to meet the rest of the group in a well off group hug, giggles and cheers being passed back and forth  
“Ugh… what happened? Uh… guys? Why am I tied up?” all eyes turned to see Chat Noir staring at his binds, that is, until green met blue “Ma-Mari?!” Alex had to hold back a laugh at the sight of her captain’s face going from peach, to white, to beet red… priceless. Eventually though, Alix had to take mercy on the helpless nerd and cut him free  
“Well, Captain Noir, it seems as though you were steering us straight into a den of Sirens. Lucky for you, I was able to knock you down and tie you up while Ivan held the wheel”  
“W-what?”  
“In fact, if it wasn’t for Mari here, who, by the way, came rushing and stumbling out here to save your butt, we never would have realized that Sirens actually existed. Then she sang this song and it TOTALLY calmed everyone down and helped us back to sea”  
“I-it wasn’t just me Alix, a-all the girls were singing. It’s one of the only ways to break the spell.. the other way… to be kissed by the one you love” Alix quirked a brow at Maylene as said girl tried to hide her blush behind her hands  
“How do you know all this?” Chat asked in bewilderment. Honestly he was still just trying to wrap his head around the idea that the WOMEN had saved all their butts  
“Excuse me?! Do you have something AGAINST women sailors?” Alex asked with a scowl as she crossed her arms  
“… I said that out loud, didn’t I?”  
“Wow. You sure know how to pick the Mars”  
“ALIX!” Mari blushed  
“… Mars?” Chat asked confused  
“IT’S NOTHING!” Marinette rushed, wildly waving her hands distractingly as her knees began to wobble  
“R-ight… anyway. Ivan, would you mind going to release the rest of the crew? I’d like to have a talk with Marinette here, if that’s okay” he asked as he gently gazed at her, not removing his eyes for even a moment while directing his head cook. Just then her knees buckled, but just before she could start to fall, Chat Noir was before her, holding her up with his chest “Are you alright?”  
“I-I-uh” she gulped as she looked up into his glowing green eyes “y-yes. I-I think I may have just… over did it a little… I kinda acted on impulse and rushed out here without thinking” Mari squeaked as she was suddenly swept off her feet by the pirate king  
“Lets say we get you back to bed, alright m’Lady?” Mari could only nod. Alix watched with a smirk as her captain carried the castaway as if she were his new bride before she went to help Ivan and the others untie the rest of the crew.  
```  
By the time the captain made it back to the guest cabin, the girl in his arms was fast asleep. Carefully, he pulled the blankets back and settled her in before replacing the covers back over her tiny frame. Chat stood, staring at the sleeping beauty before him a good five minutes before he leaned over, brushed her bangs from her forehead and… stopped. He paused. Mere inches away and he hesitated… before he sighed as he straightened back up, allowing her hair to fall back in place. The next moment, he was closing the door behind him as he made his way back to check on his crew. “ALIX! NINO! My Quarters… NOW!”  
Five minutes later found a still slightly confused first mate standing beside his seated Captain as the two looked across from the pinkette sitting with a single leg crossed “Alright. Explain to me aagain… what happened?”  
“Look Caps, I did nothing wrong. And neither did Mars. In fact, she SAVED us! Heck, if it wasn’t for HER, we’ve probably all be FISH FOOD right about now!” Alix hostilely shot back defensively  
“First off, don’t call me Caps. Chat is fine. Second, no one said you or anyone else were in trouble. I simply just want to run over what happened again now that my mind is clear” Alix groaned as she rolled her eyes  
“Fine. It’s like this. Mars and I were in her room when we heard someone shout for land. Knowing we should have had at least a WEEK before our next port, I went to the window, JUST to see my old country. The thing is though, I know these waters, that dastardly land should still be on the OTHER SIDE of the WORLD! NOWHERE CLOSE to Here of all places! So I went to check it out. The moment I opened the door, you could hear a faint song being sung. I figured it must’ve just been Rose and Jeuleka. Mars tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen. Instead I went to the main doc to find all the guys preparing the boats as if they planned to deboard soon, leaving all us girls standing confused when we realized y’all weren’t even making a sound. Out of nowhere Mars appears and tells us it’s Sirens. I rushed up the stairs just to find poor Caps here in a steering trance, going way to fast towards a land that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Sorry Caps, but I kinda had to knock you out and tie you up to try and save our skins. Suddenly Mars came crawling up the stairs saying that we have to drown them out ourselves. THEN she started singing Song of The Sea and all us women joined in. Ivan steered us to safety and, well, you know the rest.” The captain took everything in, seeming bewildered by the tough girl’s tale. Suddenly he rose to his feet and started walking towards the door  
“Nino! Tell this Crew to TURN THIS SHIP AROUND!”  
“What? Why?” Nino asked flabbergasted. Alix jumped to her feet. What was he talking about? The Captain spun around, almost looking like he were in an excited trance  
“Because… this is EXACTLY what I’ve been LOOKING FOR!”  
“WHAT?!” she did NOT know her voice could squeak that high “WHAT THE CRABCAKES ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!”  
“The Sirens!” Chat’s grin grew “We’ve FINALLY FOUND ONE!” Alix paled. He wanted to… her fury over took her and she clean punched Chat Noir in the jaw, knocking him clean on his rump before she grabbed him by his shirt and pulled his face inches away from hers  
“Obviously you must STILL be under that stupid trance because there is NO WAY I’m letting you even THINK about taking us back there!”  
“Woah, Al, chill” Nino tried to chime in  
“Stuff it Nino… unless you want some too!” Nino backed away quickly. Alix may be small, but she was one of the toughest pirates on board of everyone, male OR female “Now unless you want to lose a few of those precious pearly whites, you’ll DROP the idea of taking us back there and LEAD us onto the next port!”  
“Alix, let go of my shirt” Chat gave her an I’m-done-with-this look before she released and allowed him to stand on his own “Alix. Perhaps you are not aware, but I am the Captain of this here ship, which means I give the orders of where we do and do not go. So if I say that we continue on to the next port, we continue on to the next port. If I say we go back and catch a Mermaid, then we go back and catch a Mermaid, got it?”  
“Woah woah woah, what?” Nino asked, joining in the conversation  
“Nino, you know EXACTLY what I mean. Heck, it’s the only reason I’m here in the FIRST place! I WILL have that Mermaid’s heart, no matter what!”  
“No dude, I’m with Al here. You’re not leading us to our deaths for no reason”  
“for no reason? For NO RESAON?! MY MOTHER IS NOT NO REASON!” Chat got in his best friends face  
“I never said she was” Nino answered calmly, trying to get his bud to chill out  
“You HEARD what she SAID! There was a MERMAID BACK THERE AND I DAM WELL PLAN TO CAPTURE IT!”  
“Yes, I heard her, but obviously YOU DIDN’T!” Nino was going to lose it “She said they were Sirens Chat… SIRENS! NOT! MERMAIDS! THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Dude, have you even TRIED to talk with Marinette?” Nino asked as he folded his arms across his chest  
“Marinette?”  
“YES! Marinette!” Alix chimed in “You know, the girl who you LITERALLY PULLED FROM THE SEA?! OR WHO’S STILL NOT COMPLETELY ABLE TO WALK?! OR WHO SERIOUSLY THREW CAUTION TO THE WIND TO TRY AND RUN OUT TO SAVE YOUR HIND END?! HOW ABOUT THE GIRL WHO EVEN KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE?! SHE LITERALLY, AFTER ONLY ABOUT, WHAT, A FEW WEEKS OF WALKING LESSONS, NOT ONLY CAME RUNNING OUT OF HER ROOM TO WARN US WHAT WAS GOING ON, BUT SHE SINGLE HANDEDLY CRAWLED UP THOSE STUPID STAIRS TO THE WHEEL JUST TO TELL US HOW TO SAVE THIS WHOLE SHIP! SHE RISKED LIFE AND LIMB AND THE RISK OF FALLING OVERBOARD BECAUSE OF HER UNSTEADY LEGS, JUST TO SAVE US FROM THOSE BLOODY BEASTS… AND NOW, NOT ONLY HAVE YOU NOT EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT HER, LET ALONE THANKED HER, BUT YOU WANT TO THROW ALL THAT AWAY AND GO BACK?!” Alix was furious. She’d seen the way her captain looked at the stowaway… so why was he acting this way? Chat grew pale as he fell against the closed door, sliding down to the floor as realization came flooding in  
“She… S-she…”  
“Yes Captain. She saved us. If it wasn’t for her, all of us would have been fish food by now.” She glared down at him as Nino crouched to be eye level with him  
“Chat, my Man, Mari… she… she knows about the Ocean. And when I say she knows, she seriously KNOWS. Like, seriously dude, she’s so wise about these types of things. Mermaids, Sirens, storms, sea beasts, tidal pools, fish…”  
“Nino’s right. That girl can go on and on about the Ocean for hours… have you seriously never talked to her about it before?” she crouched down beside Nino. Chat buried his head into his hands  
“No, I haven’t.” that’s all he said. His two friends gave him a little time more, before they pulled him to his feet and led him to the guest cabin.  
```  
Marinette awoke groggily to the sound of a light wrapping at her door “mmm, come in” The door opened to reveal Alix, Nino, and Chat Noir. Alix quickly made her way over to her friends bedside  
“Hey Mars, you feelin okay?”  
“mhm” Mari hummed as she rubbed her eyes and stretched, a small (cute) little yawn/mew finding it’s way out from her lips. Alix chuckled  
“Good to hear. So… turns out Caps here was wanting to turn back to try and snag a Siren” Mari’s eyes shot open as she was instantly full alert  
“ExCUSE ME?!” the girls eyes shot from Alix, to Nino, to Chat… where they locked and turned to a glare “Are you KIDDING ME?! WHY in ALL THE OCEAN WOULD YOU WANT TO GO BACK?! DO YOU REALIZE HOW DANGEROUS THOSE THINGS ARE?! THEY’RE COLD BLOODED MURDERERS, VICIOUS, VILE CREATURES WHOSE ONLY INTENT IS TO DRAG YOU DOWN TO A WATERY GRAVE AND CONSUME YOUR REMAINS FOR BREAKFAST!” Mari was huffing as she continued to glare at the seemingly confused Captain “IT TOOK US OVER AN HOUR TO GET RIGHTLY BACK ON CORUSE! WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO BACK?!”  
“It seems that Caps here thinks it was a mermaid leading him to that so-called island” Mari’s head turned to look at the other girl before turning to Nino and seeing him nod in confirmation, before she glared back at the now (was he starting to cower)ing Captain  
“are you kidding me? DO YOU SERIOUSLY NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MERMAID AND A SIREN!?”  
“but… isn’t a mermaid just another name for a siren?” Chat asked  
“NO! ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!? ALIX TELL ME HE’S JOKING, ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO TELL ME THAT FLIPPER-FIN PIRATE CAPTAIN DOESN’T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MERMAID AND A SIREN!?”  
“He’s not joking Mari” Nino spoke in as he made his way to the other side of the bed, coasting the timid Captain along with him “he was seriously going to have us turn around and go back because he thought he’d finally found a mermaid” Marinette stared at the two men, then she took a breath in and let it out  
“Okay, okay… I’m calm… So… the Captain of this ship doesn’t know the difference between mermaids and the devil… why are you telling me this now?”  
“We were just wondering-”  
“I-if you’d be willing to… explain… how did you know they were Sirens?” Chat interrupted. Mari sighed  
“Look, there’s a difference between Sirens and Mermaids… a BIG difference. Like the fact that Sirens are cold-blooded killers, a predator to all creatures in the ocean… including Mermaids. Their specialties are their ability to use illusions and their voices. See, they wait for traveling ships, possibly filled with men, then they lure them into their traps, crashing their ships against the giant rocks, and dragging the crew down to the depths of the sea, never to tee the light of day again… heck, they don’t even LOOK the same… Mermaids are kind, and gentle, calm and peaceful folks who only live to serve the sea and all those dwelling within it. They have gentle hands, kind hearts and their tails are singular tails, where as Sirens are cruel, ugly, and nasty jerks whose tentacles can range from anywhere from five to eight per being. In fact, I’mnotevvensurehowtheymanagedit, but I believe one of your laws of the sea was created by them… that is, that Women On Board Are Bad Luck, and the reason is simple… while their voices may lure the men to their doom, it has no effect on girls who could potentially save the ship like Alix and the girls did earlier, not to mention, only a woman can break the curse… either by drowning out the song with one of their own, or by kissing the one with their heart.”  
“That must have been how Ivan was able to help us… Maylene must have kissed him” Alix threw out as she contemplated everything Marinette was saying. Mari nodded  
“That what I assumed too. Although thinking about it, I have to ask…” for this she turned to the Captain who seemed to be gapping at her like she had just told him the secret of the world “it’s supposed to be bad luck to have women aboard a ship, and yet… you have five… why is that?” this seemed to bring Chat back to the land of the living  
“Ah, well… the Captain’s already the very definition of bad luck… a black cat… what’s a few women gonna do?” Chat shrugged as he answered  
“that… actually makes sense” Mari stated in thought  
“However, in THIS case” Alix stated with a smirk “It seems having women on board actually saved you men’s tail-ends”  
“What else do you know?” Chat asked, ignoring the other two in the room and solely focusing on Marinette  
“I… know a lot… you’ll have to be more specific”  
“What else do you know about mermaids?” Chat put plainly, resting his chin on his folded hands as his elbows sat on his legs. . Mari rose a questioning/suspicious brow  
“why do you want to know?”  
“I’ll explain after you tell me what you know”  
“Well I’ll tell you what know after you explain” Mari folded her arms, glaring at the captain. Alix rolled her eyes at their little staring match  
“Ugh, this is getting nowhere. Caps, common, it’s like, nine o’clock at night, and I’m pretty sure Mars has had enough excitement for one night, not to mention, we did kinda wake her… sorry about that Mars”  
“No, Alix, it’s okay” Mari stated without moving her eyes from the glare down  
“No it’s not dudes. Alix is right. Mari, you literally just put your whole body through a tremendous workout without warning, and need I remind you Chat, she passed out as soon as she was in your arms?” Nino argued. Mari’s face turned red  
“I-I told you, I-I’m fifne. I-I just-”  
“No, no they’re right.” Chat shook his head, seeming to return from lala land “it’s late, and you really did push yourself too much. You should rest. I’m sorry for trying to force this on you so soon… perhaps we could talk about it tomorrow?” Maari’s face loosened up  
“Y-yeah,sure.” She mumbled. Then he got up and left the room without a single word more. Mari just stared after him with her jaw dropped. Did he just… d-did he just WALK AWAY FROM HER?! But WHY?! What did she do THIS time, HUH?!  
“Don’t worry Mari, I’ll talk to him… night dudes” then Nino left right behind him  
“So… now that it’s just us… based on what I saw earlier, I think you’re ready for the next step. Starting tomorrow, training intensifies. You’ll learn to stand your ground, even on the sea, you’ll dodge, and we may even try jumping… got it?” Mari nodded “Good. Now, get some rest Mars, lessons begin at dawn. Night Mars.” and finally Alix made her way out.  
```  
“So… are you team MariChat or AdriNette?”  
“What?” Nino looked over to see Alix leaned over with her elbows on his desk  
“The bet” Alix stated, but seeing as he still looked confused, Alix rolled her eyes and explained “look, anyone with eyes can see that Mars likes this Adrien dude, but even a BLIND BAT, A HUNDRED MILES AWAY, can see how much Caps cares for Mars, and how the BOTH look at each other when they think no one’s looking. So, we made a betting pool for who we think Mars will end up with… So far we have Rose, Jueleka, Max and Kym for AdriNette, and Ivan, Maylene and Myself for MariChat”  
“What about Nath?” Alix shrugged  
“Eh, He refused to vote. So… can I put you down for AdriNette so I can take your money now?” Nino wanted to laugh… he didn’t but he still wanted to… I mean, they were starting a betting pool, putting their Captain against himself for Mari’s ultimate pick… oh if Alya could see this now…  
“Sorry Al, but I think I’m gonna pass.”  
“What?! Common, that’s not fair!”  
“Sorry dudette, but the fact that the Captain happens to be my best bro, while Mari happens to be friends with my girl… I’d rather not cross over either of their toes if you know what I mean”  
“yeah, yeah” Alix stated with a wave “Whatever. BUT, if you change your mind, you know where to find me”  
“Duly noted” Nino stated as the two parted ways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI GUYS!!!  
> So Chapter TEN is now officially up, and chapter 11 is in the process.  
> So tell me... what did you think? what were your favorite parts? what's something you MAY like to see in future chapters? Let me know if you have anymore information/myths about Mermaids and or Sirens
> 
> Okay, now, time to give credit...  
> The song Mari and the Girls were singing was the song Song Of The Sea. If you haven't heard it, you really should. It's SOOO pretty and soothing and calm... you know what, here, just take the link lol  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6wVijh2n9g
> 
> Also, the idea that Women aboard ships are bad luck I got from the story The symphony of the Siren, written by Jaybirdy (Peta_Jayne1312). It's only one chapter right now, but HOLY COW, THIS GIRL can WRITE! Seriously, it's absolutely AMAZING! you can find her story here  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/11866203/chapters/26793876
> 
> And finally... thank you Thank You THANK YOU for ALL the love and support <3  
> and don't forget to comment ;)
> 
> (P.S. Not saying I will or anything, just an Idea that popped into my tired brain, but... how many people would kill me if at the end, it turns out this whole thing was just a story Adrien/Chat was writing for Mari Pre-reveal?)


	11. A Dream From a Nightmare (Adrien's POV)

Adrien couldn’t sleep.   
Surprisingly, he had a different dream than the one about the little child, and… it was unsettling… more like a nightmare. The worst part was, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was. All he knew was he woke up in a hot sweat shouting “MY LADY!”, panting, grasping the sheets as if he were trying to prove it was real, and rushing to turn the lights on… he’s never wanted his little repeat dream back so badly.  
Adrien walked over to his vanity, quickly washing his face before he stared himself in the mirror. ‘It was just a dream Agreste, it wasn’t real… whatever it was’ he sighed as he ran his hands through his soaked hair… he was hot… too hot ‘I need some fresh air’ Adrien quickly put his ring back on, donning his mask and ears, and unlocked the door. Chat Noir spent the next twenty minutes checking over the entire crew, making sure Kym was okay at the wheel (he was), and checked over everything again, yet… he couldn’t shake the feeling that supposed nightmare had left him with- *BUMP* Chat looked up to see that he had bumped into a door… HER door… Chat gulped as he, ever so lightly, knocked, and slowly turned the door knob before quietly pushing the door open enough to poke his head in “Princess?” he whispered. The room itself was dark with only the moon from the small window as a light. He listened for any sign that she may have heard him but was only met with the soft sound of gentle breathing “Psst, Princess, are you awake?” he whispered again… she didn’t stir. He gulped “Uh, P-Princess… I’m coming in” he quickly came in the room and shut the door a little harder than he meant to… he held his breath, waiting for the gasp of her sudden wakening… it never came. He let it out in relief before making his way over to her bedside. He gazed lovingly at the girl before him, sleeping peacefully, a small, gentle smile on her face as her hair laid splayed out over her neck and pillow ‘she looks so happy, I wonder what she’s-‘ just then she subconsciously pulled the oversized coat higher up her shoulder as she snuggled into herself  
“hmm…Adrien” she mumbled in her sleep  
‘she’s… sh-she’s dreaming of ME?!’ Chat’s eyes grew wide as he just stared down at her… ‘if she’s dreaming about ME, then could it be… c-could it be the SAME dream as MINE?!’ Chat quickly turned around and walked over to the window, quickly cracking it open… Man was he hot… too hot. He quickly glanced back at the sleeping girl to make sure she was still out, then he removed his ring, leaving Adrien to sit on the window seat as he opened the window further, reveling in how the cool air could hit his now unmasked face. He looked back once more to see that she had rolled over, breathing softly into the night, still out cold to this world. It didn’t take much for his previous thoughts to come rushing back to him ‘What am I thinking? Of course there’s no way that could be possible. I mean… common, a SHARED dream? That’s impossible. What next? Are you gonna try and convince me soul mates are real too? Because that’s the ONLY way I can think a shared dream would be possible. But… they’re not real… are they?’  
Mari began to groan in her sleep, before she subconsciously began to stir. Chat turned around to see a look of distress on her beautiful face, as well as the faint small beads of sweat that began to gather on her forehead “Mmn… n-no… Clo… don’t” Adrien blinked was she having a nightmare? Suddenly her distressed look became that of as if she were in pain  
“H-hey, you okay?” she groaned again, tears starting to form in her eyes. Adrien began to worry as he began making his way over to her “Mari?”  
“N-N-no… lea im alone” she pulled the sheets tighter around herself, her sweat beads growing to full drops  
“Princess” He said a little louder, trying to wake her, but her eyes only screwed tighter together as the tears started falling like rain “Hey, h-hey snap out of it” he tried to gently nudge her awake, but she remained asleep. Suddenly she began thrashing around as if trying to escape someone’s grip, hitting Adrien clean in the chest, causing his to take a wide-eyed step back to catch his breath… girl was strong  
“-ave him… SAVE HIM!” she shouted. This was getting out of hand. He had to wake her, at this rate, she’d fall off the bed  
“Princess, Common, PrINCESS, WAKE UP!” he tried shaking her awake, but she just fought against him  
“D-don’t… DON’T LEAVE ME!” she cried as she slept. Wait… who was leaving her?  
‘Ugh, IT DOESN’T MATTER! SHE HAS TO WAKE UP!’ “Princess!, Common, Princess! Wake Up”  
“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” she screamed. Her flailing stopped as she fell limp, her sobs almost quiet from the scene in her dreams. Adrien stared wide-eyed… she was having a nightmare… about HIM?! “Ch-Chat… don’t… d-don’t leave me” she whispered through her tears, a small pout forming on her lips. She… he left her? What? How could her ever do that? To just… she… she feared him leaving her? She feared CHAT of all people… leaving her? But… why? I mean, ADRIEN he could understand, but CHAT? Adrien shook his head  
‘this is NO TIME for questions right now. She’s full out crying now, and you’re just, what? Questioning yourself?... I have to wake her’ “Princess! Common Princess” he felt her forehead… she’s burning up. “Marinette!” Suddenly the girl shot up, eyes wide open as she began panting to catch her breath, holding her heart as she scanned over the room, eyes finally landing on  
“A-Adrien?” Adrien quickly looked over himself to verify that, yes, he had forgotten to put the ring back on, so now, he appeared as Adrien, wearing nothing but his pants and boots. Mari’s eyes began to well up again as she fell into his bare chest, shaking her head as the tears wouldn’t stop. “there’s, th-there’s a whirlpool, and a bird, th-the sirens a-are trying to sink us, Ch-Chloe has him… sh-she took him! Why… WHY did she TAKE HIM?! WHY DIDN’T YOU SAVE HIM?!” she cried harder as she began to pound on his chest. He could feel her fever rising against his bare skin, man, and he thought HE was burning up. He quickly and quietly picked her up bridal style and brought her over to the open window seat. He gently placed her down, before running to her vanity to wet a cloth with the remaining water from the early morning. Making his way back over to the saddened and overheated girl, he placed the cool wet cloth along her forehead. He didn’t say a word as he climbed onto the seat beside her. But when she fell back into his chest crying, he couldn’t help but to want to sooth the girl, so, while rubbing sweet gentle circles on her back, he began to softly sing the Song of The Sea, as if for a lullaby for a child. Her sobs slowly lightened until they were all but soft sniffles as she tried to keep her eyes open, but quickly beginning to lose the battle “whereareyou?” she mumbled, half out of it. Ah. She must think she's still asleep... he can work with that  
“shh… I’m right here, Marinette” he whispered back  
“I…haveyourcoat…i-” she began to try to sit up to take it off, but realized it wasn’t there “huh?”  
“You have a fever Marinette, I took it off to help cool you down faster. You can put it back on before you go back to bed”  
“b-but…” she yawned “it’syours” she mumbled, finding holding her eyes open to be very difficult “Iwantedtogiveitbacktoyou” she pouted. Adrien had to hold back a chuckle at how cute she looked  
“Don’t worry, you will… someday, just… hold it a little longer, okay?”  
“Mmhm” she hummed, nuzzling into him again “willIseeyouagain?”  
“I… no one has seen Adrien Agreste in years, and… while I’d love to reveal myself to you, I’m afraid I can’t just yet. But maybe… one day” he felt her head again. Good, her fever went down. He gently lifted her into his arms, then carried her back to her bed, putting his coat back on her before tucking her back in. She subconsciously snuggled back into the coat  
“Mmn… itstillsmellslikeyou” she smiled in her half-sleep mode. Adrien blushed at that  
“W-well, I, uh… b-better be going” he quickly rewet the cloth and was replacing it on her head when her hand gently caught his wrist  
“Adrien?” she asked as she tried to cracked her eyes open  
“Yes?” he whispered  
“What was your mother’s name?” the question caught him off guard. WHY would she ask something like THAT?! What purpose could she POSSIBLY have for needing that information?! But then again… it WOULD confirm his idea that she was a visiting foreigner, since pretty much everyone and their brother knew of the late Queen… it wouldn’t hurt to tell her, right?  
“Emma” he whispered before he could stop himself. She smiled up at him  
“Then we’ll name her Emma” Adrien’s eyes widened. Did… did she just say…   
“R-right. Well… G-goodnight Marinette”  
goodnightAdrien” she mumbled as she allowed the world of dreams to welcome her in again. After a few minutes of just standing there, frozen in place, he finally transformed back into Chat Noir. Making his way back to rewet the cloth one more time, Chat realized that he couldn’t feel for a fever with his gloves on. Seeing no other options, he gently leaned down to place his lips against her forehead, both checking her temperature, and giving her that small kiss he’d been wanting to give her since she came on his ship. Then he replaced to cloth, and made his way back to his own cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was about to start writing chapter 12 when I realized... I haven't posted chapt 11 yet... whoops. lol, sorry for the delay.  
> I am in a pickle though... who's POV should be next? I feel like maybe it should be one of the (so-called) background characters since Mari & Chat seem to be taking up a lot, but I can't decide who...  
> Leave a comment with who you think should have their POV next and the name with the most comments wins!
> 
> lol  
> I think that's about it for now... Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  
> <3


	12. He's Not As Bad As You Think (Maylene's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, quick note...
> 
> I KNOW I spelled Maylene's name wrong, but honestly, I couldn't find how to spell it when first writing these stories... so I sounded it out.   
> It would take too much time to go back and correct every name I've gotten wrong (working adult with 2 jobs), so... I'm sorry if it bothers you, but to keep up with the original story lines, they're staying how I spelled them.   
> (And before you ask, no. I do not have a Beta Reader).
> 
> Now, with that out of the way. Enjoy the next chapter =^_^=

It’d been a week. One week since Maylene woke up to the sound of her captain screaming for his “Lady”, and she would know. For while Ivan may have been a deep sleeper, she herself was fairly light (you’d have to be to know if something was wrong when your father was a mime), not to mention, the Captain’s quarters was right above her own bed. See, while the walls of his room maybe soundproof enough, his floor was a different story. Sure, she couldn’t hear anything at normal volume, and only muffles could be heard when he was yelling, at most… but she could clearly hear every footstep above her head. So the fact that she could clearly hear him pronounce “MY LADY!” had her VERY concerned. Even more so as she heard him cross across the room before leaving to the rest of the ship.   
It’d been one week. One week since she had lightly kissed her young husband on his forehead before slipping from their bed. all her years of serving under him, she has never known her captain to have ever had a nightmare before, and seeing as how it was still close to midnight out, she made her way to the kitchen, set to create her secret family nightmare remedy (she’d had a good many as a child after her mother was taken)… warm milk and honey.  
It’d been one week. One week since she quietly made her way upstairs in time to see her captain hesitate outside of Marinette’s door. She hid in the shadows, warm cup in hand, as she saw him cautiously enter into the girl’s dark room. She smiled, knowing her captain may be a greatly feared Pirate, but he was a good man who would NEVER deliberately hurt or take advantage of anyone… let alone a defenseless girl who couldn’t even walk properly… perhaps a talk with Marinette would do him some good. And if she was asleep, he wouldn’t disturb her… most likely, he’d just sit in the window and let the cooling ocean breeze hit his face… that seat did have the best draft spot after all. Smiling, she made her way over to the Captain’s quarters and carefully sat the still warm cup on his waiting desk. Carefully she glanced around until she spotted a blank sheet of paper and a quill.  
“Heard you had a nightmare. Hopefully this helps.  
It’s warm milk and honey.  
It’s also good cold, but if you don’t drink it, that’s fine too. I’ll just take it to mean your nightmares have fled.  
Sleep well  
Maylene”  
It’d been one week. One week since she was making her way back from the cabin and passed the captain himself. He’d looked worn and tired… but fear seems to have lost its grip on him. She smiled as she watched him retreat to his room again, before starting her journey again. She stopped outside the second door, before quietly peeking her head in, just as she has done every night since the new girls arrival… she sighed as she saw Marinette snuggle more into her jacket before humming a sweet “Kitty”. Maylene gently closed the door and made her way back to her own room, back into bed, and quickly wrapped back into her husband’s arms as he slept. She giggled quietly at the heavy sleeper. He probably didn’t even realize she was gone.

“MAYLENE!” said girl looked up as Rose came running into the kitchen, a look of worry on her face  
“What’s wrong?” she stated as she quickly dried her hands from the dirty dish water.  
“WE NEED A BOWL OF HOT WATER, SOME CLEAN RAGS, AND AN EMPTY BOWEL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!” Maylene’s eyes widened as she quickly got all the requirements and rushed up the stairs with Rose, arms full of towels.   
What she saw made her jaw drop. Both her captain and Marinette were sitting on the deck, dripping soaking wet as they both tried to catch their breaths. Maylene rushed to their aide “What happened?” still huffing, the captain glared over at the still coughing (and now shivering) girl beside him  
“Princess here decided she wanted to take a bath… in the ocean” he spat sarcastically. Marinette didn’t seem to notice as she began sneezing  
“What? Marinette, why?” Maylene quickly handed the bowels to her husband and rushed another towel to the girl as Nino did the same for Chat. Marin shivered as she held her arms together against the side of her chest. Finally realizing she was not alone, Mari hesitantly pulled her arms away from her chest to reveal a young. Soaking wet bird. Maylene gasped as she swiftly removed her apron and wrapped the little creature in it, fastly handing it off to Jueleka as Max made his way from the captain to Marinette.  
“Th-th-there w-were two b-bigger one i-in th-the sky f-fighting” Mari began as she shivered “th-then th-the o-o-one d-dropped i-it i-into the o-ocean” Max quickly switched out the now wet towels for new dry ones “I-I h-had to, t-to s-save it”  
“Are you telling me that you jumped overboard, KNOWING you can’t swim, to save a bird?” Chat asked annoyed  
“I C-Can S-swim just FINE, Thank Y-You!” she shot back “it’sjustthesestupidlegs” she mumbled under her breath  
“Why did you want to save it Marinette?” Maylene asked, trying to stop a fight before it broke out. Mari looked up at her  
“I-i…” she sighed “I know ocean creatures, and I can honestly say, I’ve never seen a creature like that before. It’s one of land’s creatures. It doesn’t belong in the ocean”  
“So that’s a reason to throw yourself overboard, and risking your LIFE?!” Chat was livid as he stood before her, a towel wrapped around his shoulders. Mari frowned  
“As I recall, you jumped in to save ME when I couldn’t swim”  
“Marinette you’re a person, that…” he gestured to the small bundle in Jueleka’s arms “Is an animal”  
“I don’t see what the difference is” Chat ran his hand down his face  
“Marinette, you are a person! A Human! THAT is a bird! Birds fall from the sky all the time!”  
“Oh, so you’re telling me, that if I wasn’t human… if I didn’t have these LEGS… YOU WOULD HAVE LET ME DROWN?!” Chat groaned  
“Marinette, that is NOT what I’m SAYIN-“  
“THEN WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, HUH?!” she fumed as she tried to rush to her feet… just to land straight back on her but. Chat frowned  
“Great, Just GREAT! Thanks to that little STUNT you just pulled, you may have just tossed ALL THOSE WEEKS of learning to walk OVERBOARD WITH YOU!”  
“WILL YOU JUST STOP?! I CAN STAND JUST FINE!” Maylene offered her a hand to help her up. She accepted and carefully stood in place. After standing and gathering her balance back, she slowly walked over to the captain and slapped him clean across the face. Everyone (captain included) was so shocked by the action, time seemed to stand still. Huffing she retorted “You are a despicable human being. Where I come from, it doesn’t matter your age, gender, race or species. If you need help, you will get help. THAT is how I was raised. You however, seemed to have been raised in a cave. You care only for yourself, and what can please you. You have no compassion, no honor, no mercy in your heart. I bet if I’d had a tail when you found me, you’d have probably finished me off yourself, wouldn’t you have? You have NO right to tell ME what to and what not to do. If I feel a life is worth saving, then kelp help me, I’m going to do all in my power to help them… yes, even if it cost me my life. THAT, Mr. Noir, is what being a Dupain-Cheng is all about.” She took a deep breath “I hate you. I don’t know WHY Adrien would trust you, but I don’t, and I can’t wait to get off this ship so I can find Adrien on my own” the calm tone in her voice added to the chills that ran up everyone’s spines. No one had EVER spoken to their captain like that and gotten away with it, but Chat… he just stood there, wide-eyed, looking like a drenched cat before she sighed, turned and carefully walked over to Jueleka, took the bundle, and started over towards her room, trying to stay straight as she walked (Rose following quickly behind her… just in case). Chat raised a hand to touch over where she’d slapped him.  
“She slapped me” he stated dumbly, staring absentmindedly at the place she just was “She actually just slapped me… why did she slap me?” he seemed to be coming back to earth as he sat down on the watchman’s chair “Did I do something wrong?” Chat looked around to the rest of the crew, his eyes pleading for an answer, but no one seemed to have the words to properly explain what had just occurred… ESPECIALLY since they were all still stunned that, yes, their sweet little Marinette had indeed SLAPPED their captain.  
“U-um, Captain?”  
“Maylene?” she took a deep calming breath before and turned an empty bucket over and using it as a stool to sit on herself, before taking his hand in a comforting manner  
“Marinette… she’s unlike any other girl I’ve ever met. She’s sweet, gentle, tough, determined, passionate, brave… she has more compassion in her little pinky toe than most people have in their entire being. So while you and I may have taken to ignoring the little bird that’d fallen into the middle of the ocean, deeming it probably already dead from even the fall alone… Marinette refused to allow those thoughts to cross her mind. She considers all life worth value… from me and you, to that little bird in her arms. She really is a wonderful girl, that one. I mean… she literally crossed the entire ocean to return the coat of the one she loves… can you imagine how sweet that is? Let alone, how hard that must have been… leaving your family, friends, home, and going out into the world to search for the one person the entire world is searching for…” Chat’s cat ears drooped. Of COURSE he could imagine it! Not only had she actually SUCEEDED in finding him… but he was still hiding, and REFUSED to tell her the TRUTH… of COURSE he could imagine it, it’s literally been the ONLY thing on his mind since she FIRST boarded this ship in the FIRST PLACE! “When you yelled at Marinette” Maylene began again “… you hurt her. I’m going to doubt she meant everything she said, but Marinette has so much love and selflessness in her heart… she’s not above self-sacrifice to save a life she sees as valuable” the captain looked up to the cooks wife as it finally dawned on him  
“Ihurther” he mumbled. Maylene nodded “I… I didn’t MEAN to hurt her. Gosh, I didn’t even mean to yell at her at all, and yet… I have to talk to her” he quickly stood to his feet, set determined to march right over to her room  
“Captain” Maylene stated as she stood in his way. “Perhaps… you should give her some time to cool down. You could also take the time to decide what you want to say to her. If it makes you feel better, I can go and check on her for you” Chat sighed  
“Yeah, yeah you’re right. Would you? I’m gonna head back to my cabin and get dried off and… think for a bit. Oh, and Maylene” he paused in his steps, rubbing the back of his neck nervously “I never did get to thank you for the milk last week. I-if it’s not too much trouble… could I have another?”  
“Of course” she smiled in her motherly way “I’ll have Ivan make you some while I go check on Marinette”  
“Thank you”

“UGH! That stupid, Selfish, Inconceivable… UGH!” Mari stated as she paced the floor furiously, catching her balance time and again from her vertigo “How dare he… How DARE he even THINK that denying a poor, innocent little creature a second chance at life, would be even a plausible option”   
“Oh Marinette, that’s not it at all” Rose stated from her seat beside Maylene on Mari’s bed. Mari scoffed at that. Rose sighed “Believe me or not if you want, but I’m telling you, he never meant to belittle you like that”   
“Well if he wasn’t actually trying to make what I did out to being the worst crime of the century, then WHY did he yell at me?!”  
“Maybe he was scared” Maylene stated clearly. The only other two stared at her as if he had just grown a second head. Marinette snorted  
“Yeah, sure. The big bad Kitty Captain was scared of a little half dead creature of the sky” she stated sarcastically  
“That’s not what I meant” Maylene put simply. The entire room was quiet as each girl was lost in their own thoughts, before the silence was broken by the small sound of sweet broken chirping. The three rushed over to the dresser, where her cold facial water was replaced by both the warm heating water bowl, and the dry bowl with the clean towel-wrapped bird in it. Said bird finally seemed to be waking up  
“It’s so little” Marinette cooed “I’ve never seen one so small”  
“It’s a baby, Marinette” Maylene stated quietly “how in the world were you able to see something so small fall from the sky?” Marinette ignored the question, curious about the new little creature in front of her. Maylene and Rose looked at each other. A silent conversation pass between them, only to be understood from years of practice between the two. Maylene nodded  
“I think I’ll go fetch Max. Maybe he can tell us what kind of bird it is” Rose stated before she left the room. Maylene took a deep breath… what was about to be said, NEEDED to be said  
“Marinette… do you know how I came onto this ship in the first place?” Marinette’s head shot up to look at the shorter girl “You see… my father’s father was big into gambling, and… he’d lost a lot at a time. But even after he passed, the collectors still wanted their payments, taking the blame and forcing it on my father. One month when he couldn’t pay, they came and forcefully took my mother… they would have took me too, but my father had hidden me and my sister away. They told my father to consider his debt ¼ paid. My father was so grieved, he refused to speak for months… but eventually, he was able to take the shame and turn it into good. He became a mime… a very good one at that, and began performing around the town, performing at parties and the like. He even performed for the royal family a time or two. He made a decent amount that way, but still, my little sister and I wound up finding work ourselves, even though we were still children.   
After the queen had passed, it was forbidden to celebrate, or have fun in the like. Both the king and his whole kingdom were depressed by her passing… as a result, my father was finding it hard to find work around town. The last day I actually saw my family… my sister had been sick, so I had left to find her some medical herbs to put in her tea… but when I came back… my house was on fire as my mute father and some neighbors were trying to put it out. I dropped my basket and ran to help them. When I tried to question my father, a neighbor told me that the collectors stopped by… claiming the loss of my mother, they took my sister (assuming she was me… the oldest) to be the new bride for their master in my mother’s place, and tried to burn down our house. My father silently pleaded with me to go, but I refused… until he actually told me to run, they’d soon realize they grabbed the wrong sister… with his words. So I ran. Working to survive, and try to save to pay off the debt, while also trying to stay hidden and remain looking innocent… I resorted to stealing to survive. A few years later, I heard that my father had taken ill… I went to see him, and ended up running into the collectors. Upon recognizing me, they began to chase me. I ran as fast as I could until I ran into the tallest boy I had ever seen. I screamed. Just then a blond man in a mask came out. I could hear the collectors coming, so I BEGGED him to hide me. After the collectors had passed by, he asked why I would be hiding from such men… so I told him my story. He told me not to worry. That I was safe now, and so would my family be. He then elected to bid me to return to his ship with his giant accomplice… that was the first time I met Ivan. A few days later, the man came back onto the ship and told me that my father’s debts were paid in full, and that my sister was being returned to our father as we spoke. He allowed me to return home, where I helped my father and sister to regain our poor life.   
I learned that my mother had passed away during child birth, forced to bare a son to the loan shark… but when mother passed… so had the boy. The loan shark was so grieved over the loss of his son, he ordered his lackeys to come and collect me to bare another… but they grabbed my sweet sister instead. My sister told me that the man took one look at her, saw she was both sick and the wrong girl, and deemed her too young to take as his bride. She told me that although she was under lock and key, never allowed out of her room, she was treated well. They fed her, bathed her, allowed her clean clothes and a fancy bed… but she was also constantly reminded that the day she became a woman, was the day she became his wife. Then she told me of hearing a loud commotion, before finally the door burst open and a man in a black mask with cat ears sheathed his sword, and knelt down to her level. He asked if she was alright, if they hurt her… when she nodded no, he sighed in relief and told her she was safe. That I had sent him, and that she could go home now. Then he personally delivered my sister to my father, and even gave some gold coins for repairs to our home.   
Upon hearing this, I had made up my mind. I wanted to thank him. So for the next year, I worked to be sure that my family would be well off without me, and at the first sound of his return… I fell to his knees, thanking him in tears for saving my family, and offered to join his crew, offering to cook, or clean, or sew, or anything a man may find troublesome… he took me on as a Cook, pairing me up with Ivan, where we eventually fell in love.   
But honestly… imagine my complete shock at learning that, not only was my family’s savoir a wanted felon, but none other than the dreaded Chat Noir himself… when I later asked him why he helped me, he simply stated that he hated to see the innocent under such torment because of greed, and that NO child should EVER have their mother taken from them.   
So you see… you’re wrong about him” Marinette’s jaw dropped in shock “he helped me. Even though he had no ties to us, he held no obligation for us, and we had never even met before that day… he still helped us. Perfect strangers. Because it was the right thing to do. You can choose to not believe me, but honestly, I think the only reason he yelled at you was because you scared him… heck, you scared all of us. When I came up and saw you both soaked to the bone, I was so afraid something had happened to you again.” Marinette looked to her folded hands in her lap, feeling ashamed at her reaction, and confused at his response. Maylene smiled lightly and lifted her chin to look her in the eye “Marinette, you have been nothing but a wonder since you boarded this ship. You’ve easily become one of the crew, and we all love you to death… but that doesn’t mean we want you to go before us” she smirked as Mari tried to hide her giggle at the joke. The two were silent for a moment more “Are you feeling better?” Maylene asked.   
“alittle” Mari mumbled as she gently pet the birds head. She sighed “I’m kinda tired, mind if I just…”  
“Oh! No problem. I mean, you DID just have a very exhausting experience, so… you go ahead and get some rest. If you’d like, I can take the little one here with me to give you some peace and quiet while Max looks it over”  
“Would you?” Mari asked as she got back into bed  
“Of course” Maylene gathered the little creature into her arms, blew out the candle and bid the girl goodnight. 

Outside the door, a very nervous looking Chat Noir stood leaned up against the wall. He quickly righted himself when he noticed Maylene exit the door  
“How is she?” he looked so concerned, it’s a wonder he hadn’t burst in there himself. She smiled  
“Better. She’s resting now though, so… don’t worry, alright?” he let out a breath in relief  
“Thank goodness” Maylene’s smile fell a little  
“Captain, if I may be so bold…” she began “Y-you really ought to tell her the truth” Chat stared at her with wide eyes  
“What?”  
“You ought to tell her the truth. Maybe why we’re on this quest, why you yelled at her like you did, that you’re really NOT the monster you want her to believe you are… thatshe’salreadyfoundhertreasure” she mumbled at the end. Chat’s eyes narrowed as Maylene coward into herself slightly  
“How?” he asked coldly  
“I’ve met him before. When we were younger, but the fact is I’ve met him. He saved me from some bullies at his father’s party while my father was performing. I’ll never forget that kindness. Nor the compassion that shone in his eyes when I told him of the hardships of my family…” she took a deep breath “I have no intention to speak of him with anyone, but he should know… he’s not alone. He has friends who care about him… and her. These friends would NEVER betray him nor his trust, and are fully loyal and devoted to him, and await the day he returns to take his rightful place.” Chat sighed in relief  
“Thank you”  
“Think nothing of it… but I still stand by what I said before… you SHOULD tell her… and apologize for earlier while you’re at it.” Chat was quiet a moment longer, lost in thought  
“I... I can’t tell her who I am… there is a reason I stay in the mask, but as for the apology… Perhaps when she wakes up” Maylene nodded her acknowledgement as the Captain turned and headed to his own cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few! That one's done.  
> So what did you think? 
> 
> like? dislike? Favorite part? Hey, had to give Mari her bird somehow, right?  
> Anyway, I think I have an idea where the next chapter's going, but for now... who's POV would you like to see it coming from?  
> Leave your response in the comments below =^_^=
> 
> Oh, and if I don't get the next chapter posted before...  
> MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! <3


	13. The Good Doctor (Max's POV)

Two days… it’s been two days since Marinette jumped overboard to save the little bird.  
Two days since he came upstairs to find both his Captain and his latest patent soaked to the bone.  
Two days since Chat Noir yelled at her.  
Two days since she slapped him.  
Two days since she stormed away to her room.  
Two days since she went to rest for a bit…  
Two days since she’d woken up.   
Max was starting to get worried. While the ladies had come in and helped her out of her soaked clothes and changed her wet bedsheets while giving her a hot bath to warm her body temperature back up (at his direction, of course), the fact still remains… she had spiked a fever only hours after she first laid down, and hasn’t woken up since. He was able to get her fever down with extra blankets, wet rags for her forehead, and medicine, but then it would spike back up again. Over and over for the past two days he’s repeated this remedy, that’s when he noticed they were running low on the chicken base, herbs, and paprika he needed to make the medicine… he had been dreading this. In all honesty, he was worried what would happen if they were to heed to land… he’d heard the Captain’s plans, that he’d planned to leave her on the next port they find, and even though Max knew the Captain was only trying to give her the best… he couldn’t do it. Max had come to find that he rather liked this new girl. She was a splendid new friend, and she’d eagerly taught and showed him so many new methods for how to use much of their ocean based items to create new medicines and even showed him how she made sea-kelp thread for her sewing… regardless, the fact remained… they NEEDED those supplies if she was to survive the week through… Max took a deep breath before he knocked on the Captain’s door. The door opened to reveal Nino at the knob, and his Captain nose deep into his maps and charts splayed out over the Captain’s desk. Nino didn’t say a word, he just simply stepped aside and let the young doctor in. “Captain?” Chat’s entire form shot up, his over tired eyes wide at the newcomer as a desperate look briefly crossed his eyes  
“Is she awake?” Nino and Max both looked shocked as they stared at the Captain… he hasn’t said a comprehendible thing since she went to sleep two days ago. Max rung his hands together nervously  
“Well… no…”  
“Then what is it? Unless you have some sort of important news, I don’t want you to leave her side, you hear me?” he went back to looking over the maps “Max, I swear to you, wake her up and you’ll have everything you could ever need… you do have everything you need, right?”

“Well… no…” Chat’s head shot up again, concern full in his eyes  
“What do you need?”  
“We’re almost out of chicken base, papri-”  
“Nino, change course for StoneHeart Island. We stop at once as soon as we get there”  
“Yes sir!” Nino ran off to direct the deck of the Captain’s demands. Chat went back to checking the charts and maps  
“Do you have enough for now?”  
“Pardon?”  
“The medicine. Do you have enough to hold her over? It’ll take us a night at the fastest to reach the island”  
“I have enough for tonight and the morning, but I’m afraid that’s all I have.” Chat nodded as he studied  
“Thank you Max. and for future reference… if you ever seem to be running low on medical supplies, please, do not hesitate to tell me. I promised you in the beginning, didn’t I? That you would have all you need?”  
“Affirmative. You did.”  
“I intend to keep that promise, you know?” he looked up to look the young doctor in the eye, portraying all the truth he had. Max smiled  
“Of course. My Captain. I never had any doubt that you were a man of your word. Pirate or not.” Chat smiled at that  
“Good. You are dismissed”

“LAND HO!”   
Max looks up from his patient to see… his home. They’ve made it to HIS Island. This was perfect, he could get everything he needs here, and he knew just where everyone was who sold each item. There was a knock at the door. Max checked her temperature one last time (good, it’s going down) before rising from his seat and answering the door. “My Captain, to what do I owe the pleasure”  
“I’ve come for a list of the materials you need. We’re about to deboard, so I’ll need it rather quick.”  
“Of course. One moment please” Max pushed the door fully opened, a full invite for the Captain to follow him in (which he did) as Max made his way across the room to his medical bag, where he pulled out his notebook and a quill. When he looked up from his list, he found the “dreaded” Chat Noir in his own seat at Marinette’s side, cradling her hand to his lips as if she was the most precious thing he’d ever seen… Max really didn’t want to interrupt, but “*Ehm* Captain Noir” he handed the leather clad man his list “This is a list of all I require. The best chicken base you can find at the butcher’s, Mr. Grothew. For the peppermint, go to the fourth house on your right from the docks and ask for Mrs. Tressime. The paprika you can find at the next house down, the Rodney’s pride themselves in their paprika. The best dandelions you can find is grown by little Susie Que, although, I suppose she wouldn’t be so little anymore. Nearly twelve years old that one. For the milkweed-”  
“Max?” Chat interrupted him  
“Yes Captain?” he didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at her sleeping, beautiful face. Max sighed “Captain, if it’s all the same, perhaps you should stay on board” that got his attention  
“What?”  
“Allow me to deboard, I shall collect all I require and be back before you know it. You should stay here and keep watch over her for me. She’s been having a fever on and off, so should it spike again, I’ll have a fresh bowl of cold water delivered every thirty minutes for resoaking the rag. And if it’s alright by you, Captain, might I stop in and see my family for a little while? It’s been nearly eight months since I’ve seen my beloved wife.” Chat nodded his agreement  
“Of course. We plan to stay here overnight at least, to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs and be on land again after so long on sea. You may even spend the night if you wish. You deserve as much.” Max shook his head  
“I thank you for the offer, but seeing as how I’m caring for a patient right now, I believe I will not be able to properly rest until she, again, has at least awoken. My dear wife will understand. I may spend my day on land, Captain, but I shall return before the sun sets.” Chat nodded again “I’ll leave you to it” before Max gathered his bag and set off to find Nino and tell him the change of plans.

It was a beautiful, glorious day. The 7am sun was shining high in the clear blue sky, and shop keepers were just starting to set up for the day’s work. Max made his way to every location he had on his list, gathering the needed supplies and well wishes for he, his Captain, and the crew. Of course, at hearing about poor Marinette, he ended up with twice the amount he was going for, as well as a few extras, including a finely made quilt from the grandmothers, a much warmer night gown from Mrs. Tressime, a get well soon card from little Susie Que, and even a new stuffed bear from the toy maker, Mr. Jones. Thankfully he was able to find a little wagon to carry everything (Thank you Susie Que). Finally, after gathering all his supplies and bidding his greetings to everyone he passed, he could finally see the little cabin sitting in the clearing, surrounded by wild flowers and fruit trees and bushes. He smiled widely as he saw his beautiful wife, the beautiful teal dress well complimenting her glorious shoulder-length red hair, one hand waving in the air, the other resting on her overly extended belly as the sun glistened off her glasses. Max dropped the handle to the wagon as he entered through the gate and ran to his beloved, lifting her up and spinning her around before placing her back down and giving her a passionate, long overdue kiss. His hand met hers on her belly. “How far?” he asked  
“Eight months almost to the day” She answered as she wrapped her arms around her husband. He smiled widely before he bent down to be even with her belly  
“Hello little one. I’m your Papa. I’ve been sailing across the seas with the ’dreaded’ Chat Noir” Sabrina giggled at his silly voices he used with her belly “or at least that’s what you’ll hear him referred to anywhere else. But you see here, in Rotashane, he’s more of a hero.” Sabrina smiled as she ran her fingers though his soft, short hair “You see once upon a time, bad people came and terrorized our Island, they would steal from whoever they pleased, snatch away girls, old and young, hold monarchs for ransom, set fires wherever they pleased… but then one day, some pirates came to our little island… at first, we were scared, but then the pirates beat the real bad guys. They went running with their tails between their legs and have never been seen here again. As a thank you for saving us, your Papa, being a doctor, I offered to join his crew. I knew the Island would be okay with your mother having been my apprentice. She quickly picked up here where I left off. We wrote each other often, and eventually fell in love, or at least, realized just how MUCH in love we really were. Then eight months ago, we married, and that’s where you came into play.” He gently rubbed her belly “I can promise you, my little one, you will have the best Mommy and most supportive Papa in the world. I love you already.” He tenderly kissed her belly before rising to his feet and kissing his wife sweetly. “Sabrina”  
“Max” she sighed as their foreheads connected, full of content. “How long do we have?”  
“I have a patient on board as we speak. It’s a long story, and I wish I could tell you everything, even now, but-”  
“But, you have to return to ship before sundown, correct?”  
“I’m sorry Love”  
“Shh” she gently cups both of his cheeks in her hands “I understand. I’d do the same thing if I were in your place… like teacher like student, right?” her eyes glisten with unshed tears as she smiles at him. It breaks his heart to have to put her through this  
“I still feel like I’m where I’m needed. Especially now. I only wish you could come with me.” He cups her cheek right back and she relaxes at his touch.  
“You know why I can’t” she frowns as she takes his hand from her cheek into her own, looking sadly down to their intertwined fingers “if I were to leave, the Island would have no doctor. Plus, let’s not forget, I’m pregnant. Not to mention, after what happened with Chloe…” he gently wiped away a stray tear from her eye as he smiled sadly at her  
“You know those superstitions are not true, women are not bad luck on the sea, in fact, quite the opposite. I can personally guarantee you, if we hadn’t had the women on board at the time, we all would have been eliminated, as all us men, save for Ivan, were under a siren’s spell.” She gasped “The women saved us”  
“W-was it Chloe?”   
“I told you, those are just superstitions, but still… I don’t know who it was as I can hardly remember that time clearly”  
“It’s just… a-after Chloe and step-father were taken away by those… fiends… do you think she might still be alive?” Max looked into his beautiful wife’s hopeful eyes brimming with tears. He sighed  
“I… I don’t have an answer for that. But you know how strong and stubborn she could be. I’m sure, no matter what happened to her, she’s fine, or at least… as fine as she can be.” He pulled Sabrina into a loving embrace as the sun was beginning to lower. “I have to go now”  
“I know. When will you return?”  
“I don’t know”  
“That’s okay, we’ll be here waiting when you do”  
“Are you going to be okay?”  
“MmHm. Your mother has been a huge blessing during this time” Max cringed, he never stopped to see his mother  
“Tell her I said hello, and that I love her, and that… I’m sorry I didn’t see her any sooner”  
“She understands” Sabrina pulled back to cup her husbands cheek “She already told me. When it comes to who a man first wants to see on his return home, it’s usually the wife. It was the same way with your own father, although she does send her love.” They kiss one more time “Go save a life today” she smiles  
“You too”  
“I will” and with that, Max begins his journey back to the great ship Miraculous

Max is just about to knock on the door when he hears a sigh. He chances a peek to see Chat Noir kissing his patients forehead right before she begins to open her eyes “Chat?” Chat throws himself backwards, causing a big commotion as he loses his step and falls backwards onto his butt. She gave a tired giggle “I thought I was the clumsy on”  
“M-Marinette” he rushed back up to his feet “You’re awake”  
“MmHm” she hummed as she stretched “how long was I asleep?”  
“About two days”  
“That’s it? It felt like so much longer” she began to snuggle back into the blankets  
“Hey, no no no no you don’t. No more sleeping” she giggled  
“I wasn’t going to, it’s just really cold” Chat blinked before jumping from his seat and rushing to shut her window  
“Better?”  
“MmHmm” she stretched again… just to be interrupted by her stomach  
“You should eat something… here” Chat went to rush and help her sit up before he carefully delivered the waiting tray of food. She smiled as she ate, Chat smiling as he watched. Her hand went up to her forehead  
“Chat… why did you-?”  
“I-I was checking your temperature. Leather gloves, can’t feel a thing through them, and no, I can’t take them off” she giggled again tiredly as she finished off the last of her soup. He smiled at her as he took the dishes and began tucking her back in  
“Rest now”  
“I thought you said” she yawned “no more sleeping” she could hardly keep her eyes open. Chat stared at her for the next few minutes  
“I… I’m going to check your fever again… okay?” she nodded as he gently leaned down and placed his lips on her forehead one more time. She sighed in content as he pulled back “It’s going down, that’s good… rest now Princess”  
“Mmn… goodnight… kitty” Chat tried to cover his blush, but the fact that it covered his entire face… he missed a spot. Max chuckled to himself as he quietly closed the door. So she woke up from a kiss… maybe not all superstition is as ridiculous as he thought.


	14. Really? Never? (Jeuleka and Rose's POV)

It had been three days since they last stopped at port, three days since Marinette first woke up, three days since being back at sea, and boy was Jeuleka happy. Jeuleka all but danced around as she helped Marinette with her dressing, helping her be ready for when Chat would come in and bid his good mornings (as if no one else noticed the daily ritual). Marinette giggled as Jeuleka helped her to her feet, assisting in dropping the skirt of the dress down to her ankles “So what’s got you so happy?” Mari asked  
“Oh, nothing, I just love being at sea” Jeuleka began as she followed Marinette over to the vanity to help her with her hair. It was a soothing time for the both of them. Marinette had first looked at the hairbrush like it was some wonder of the world she’d never seen, so Jeuleka had taken up brushing her hair for her. Usually during this time, Marinette would hum a soft tune and put Jeuleka’s soul at ease. She could never understand it, but she wasn’t about to ask or complain as the calmness wasn’t unwelcomed. Today however, Mari had taken to singing some words out loud quietly to herself. Jeuleka just smiled as she gently used the brush to stroke through Marinette’s hair.  
“So did you go on land when we stopped?” Marinette asked  
“For a little, Rose had wanted to visit some of the shops and see about finding a new fan for the summer months”  
“And did she?”  
“I found one for her. A Chinese style, but locally made. We also had lunch together at the local pub, but we returned before supper. Rose knows I don’t quite prefer land dwelling, but we usually go together for a little while at every port we stop at, just so we can stretch our legs and such”  
“hm” Marinette hummed in acknowledgement “Why don’t you like land dwelling? I mean, I know I’d like to try it, maybe someday… the sand between my toes, the soft green grass, to see the cities and people walking around…” Jeuleka paused in mid motion  
“The way you say it… it almost sounds as if you’ve never done such before” Marinette blushed  
“I-I mean… Kinda… no, what I mean is… I-I’ve just…” she sighed “It’s always sort of been a dream of mine. No, I’ve never felt the sand between my toes, or felt the grass with my bare feet. And while we have cities, wh-where I’m from, they’re mostly just… towns, I think. There are so many far and few between. We try to visit them all, to let them know that they all matter to us, but there-”  
“We?”  
“My family. My mother, father and I.”  
“So wait, you’re saying your family goes from town to town to let the people know that you care? What are you, royalty or something?”  
“It’s a democracy really” Marinette shrugged. Jeuleka leaned back, eyes wide opened in shock  
“Huh?”  
“You see, the Royal Committee hand chose my father to be the next ruler before I was born, since the last ruler was finishing out his last days… he was a great ruler, but at 954 years old, he felt it was time to retire.”  
“954?!” Jeuleka asked in shock. Marinette nodded  
“And he started his reign at age 18. Like I said, he was a good and kind King, but his wife was barren, and he didn’t have the heart to take another after she passed on at 723” Marinette sighed in sadness “They married at the young age of 23. She was a beautiful Queen, considering all her subjects as her children. It was a very sad day in all of the Atlantic when she passed away” Jeuleka pulled a chair over to sit down… this was too much  
“723? Just how long do your people live?”  
“Hm? Oh, um… if we were to go on average… I’d say we’re lucky to get to 1,000. But we don’t really start showing that age till about 900.”  
“So… what’s the secret?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Where most of us come from, you’re lucky to reach 90, let alone 1,000”  
“Oh. That… that’s sad” Marinette frowned. Jeuleka began brushing her hair again in silence until it started getting to her  
“So then… how old are your parents?”  
“Hm? Oh, my father is 142 and my mother is 140. They’ll be celebrating their 120th anniversary this year”  
“… how old are you?” Mari giggled at Jeuleka’s hesitant face in the mirror  
“I’m 18 years old”  
“So… you’re like a baby then?”  
“No, not at all. In fact, I’m nearly an adult. Just because we live longer doesn’t mean we age all that differently. My parents tried for over 100 years before they finally had me, so I grew up in the Palace, but Momma and Papa raised me well, without the help of any nannies or advisors.”  
“That I can agree with” Jeuleka concluded with a smile as she finished brushing Marinette’s hair  
“So what about you?” Mari asked as Jeuleka began to gather her hair together “What are you parents like?” Jeuleka smirked as she reached for a ribbon for Mari’s hair  
“My mother was a simple peasant girl who was taken by pirates, a stubborn, feisty, fire ball who wouldn’t scare easily, no matter what the captain threatened, she wouldn’t even bat an eye. Instead she would comment exactly how that form of punishment either wouldn’t work, or wouldn’t be of any benefit to either him nor the crew, and exactly how it would come back to bight him in the rear-end should he try it. It eventually became like a game to the captain. He’d come up with the most gruesome of punishments, and she’d come out with the results. Over time it went from gruesome punishments to just certain actions to annoy her. Then from annoying actions to affectionate gestures. And finally from affectionate gestures to a proposal. They were married that night. Then nine months later, they had me and my brother.” Jeuleka tightened the ponytail and began to separate it for braiding “So you see, I grew up on the sea as a Pirates child. It’s all I’ve known. Once I was old enough, I decided to try and settle down on land, maybe get a job at the local Pub or such… the only good to come of that whole plan was meeting Rose… I eventually started missing the sea, missing the feel of the waves against the boat, the gentle rocking at night… it was then that I heard about a certain Pirate looking for recruits. Chat welcomed me with open arms and told me they’d be leaving port at dawn… I had gone to say my goodbyes to Rose when…” she finished off the braid and began tying a matching ribbon around to hold it in place “she surprised me, having her bags already packed and ready to go, she told me, demanded really, that she was coming with me.” She smiled as she finished off the small bow, letting the braid fall to Marinette’s neck  
“Wow, so… you guys have been together ever since?”  
“Yeah… something like that. So what do you think?” Marinette turned her head from side to side with a wide grin  
“It’s beautiful. What’s it called?” Jeuleka blinked in surprise  
“It’s a braid… haven’t you ever braided your hair before?” Mari shook her head  
“Do you think you could teach me?” Jeuleka smiled  
“Maybe later. For now though, Chat should be coming any-” just then they heard a knock on the door “And that’s my cue. Thank you for telling me about your home Marinette”  
“And you for yours” Mari stated as Jeuleka got up and excused herself outside, past Chat Noir (who was holding a tray of fresh foods and a single flower in a cup) “Go get her tiger” she muttered as she excused herself, leaving Chat to stare, gaping like a fish.

Rose held the bundled blanket in her arms as she made her way to the guest cabin. It was nearly lunch time now, so Chat should have left to fetch the next meal… good. Rose smiled as she knocked on the door “Knock knock, can I join you?”  
“Rose, come on in” Rose made her way through the door, gracefully making her way over to the window seat where Marinette was sitting while she seemed to be drawing an immaculate underwater kingdom, complete with ocean life. Marinette sat her drawing to the side as Rose drew closer  
“I have someone I think wants to meet you” she smiled as she peeled away a corner of the blanket bundle… Marinette gasped as the little head of the baby bird popped up, looked right at her, and chirped, as if trying to talk to her. Rose giggled as she carefully handed the bundle over to Marinette, who took the bundle as gently as if it were a baby. “We worked on getting him dried and back to health for the past week, then Max gave him a checkup and we got the A-Okay to let you see him.”  
“He’s beautiful”  
“He’s a Rainbow Sun Conure Parrot. He’s male. Max checked.” The little bird hadn’t taken its eyes off Marinette once, cocking its head from one side to the next, it let out another chirp. Rose smiled as she took a seat beside Mari “I think he knows it’s you. This whole time, ever since he woke up, he’s been looking around, like he was looking for something… or maybe, someone. He’d call out as he searched at times, but we couldn’t help him. Maybe he was looking for you.” Marinette gently reached out and, using a single finger, combed over the little birds head. The little bird’s eyes closed in pure bliss, as if it was happy to have confirmation that his search was over. “I think he knows that you’re the one who saved him”  
“Your land creatures are so smart” Marinette commented softly as she cooed over the little bundle in her lap  
“Huh? What do you mean?”  
“Where I come from… most of the creatures wouldn’t turn a head to acknowledge you if you saved them or such. They’d just swim away, glad for their lives.”  
“Oh, so… you care for the sea life?”  
“Kinda… a majority of my people are farmers. They care for the sea life like the farmers in your books care for… sheep, were they?” she asked, referring to the book Rose had given her the last time she’d visited  
“Oh, so you read it?” Marinette nodded  
“I did. Well… at least, I tried… I couldn’t quite read the words as our written language seems to be different, but… Chat was reading it to me while I was bed ridden, then I would look at the drawings after he left… It was very interesting. Your sheep actually know to follow the shepherd… the closest thing we have to that would be tuna. But even they need to be corralled together. And your dogs… maybe the dolphins could compare. I know they’re good at herding the schools at least, and gentle around my people, so… kinda like your dogs, right?” Rose blinked her wide round eyes  
“Are you telling me that you’ve never seen a dog before?” Marinette shook her head “Or sheep?” again she shook her head “But you know all about sea life?”  
“My home is actually in the middle of the ocean, so… we don’t have any land creatures.”  
“What about birds?” Rose asked, directing her attention back to the now sleeping bundle still in Mari’s lap  
“Maybe the occasional seagull, but… never a creature quite as beautiful as this one” the two sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the light rise and fall of the little birds chest as he slept comfortably where he was “He really is beautiful” Mari whispered. Rose hummed in agreement  
“Have you thought of a name for him yet?” Mari thought for a moment  
“Kawamii”  
“Kawamii?” Mari nodded “What does it mean?”  
“Well… how should I put this…” Marinette pondered “they’re… where I come from, Kawamii are said to be like, little spirit guides, so to speak. They’re small, magical creatures that tend to the wild life, guide you to your destiny, and make up for wonderful children’s’ stories”  
“Oh, so… like fairies?”  
“I suppose you could say that” Mari giggled. At that moment, Rose glanced down to the drawing, noticing the writing on the back  
“What’s this?” Rose asked as she picked up and began studying the drawing  
“That’s my home” Rose looked up in shock  
“IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!” Rose beamed. Mari chuckled at her reaction  
“Thanks” She then scooted herself closer to Rose to better view the drawing “Like I said, this is my home, Atlantic. That’s the castle there. This tower here is my parent’s wing. My room use to be just next door, but once I turned 16, I was given my own wing here. This window right here is my room. But my favorite room is the one you can’t see from this side… my artist room. I do all of my sewing and drawing and creating in that room. This cave over here belongs to my Grandmother Tikki. She taught me all I know, well, she and my parents”  
“Why does your Grandmother live in a cave?”  
“Oh, no… you misunderstand… the cave is the entrance to a much larger cave. Actually, once you’re inside, you’d completely forget that you’re even in a cave… over the years, she’s added windows, another entrance that leads to her garden, and she’s carved out rooms, making it as roomy as one of our people’s houses. She’s lived there comfortably for years.” Mari smiled. Rose smiled back.   
“So, what’s the writing on the back?”  
“Oh. I was just writing a letter home. Just to let them know that I’m still okay, but still searching” Mari smiled “What about you Rose? Are you writing home?” Rose smiled sadly  
“I have no one to write to”  
“What?” Mari asked in shock  
“I was disowned when I decided to go with Jeuleka. See, my family is VERY superstitious. They tried to convince me not to go, told me they’d find me a good man for a husband, that I could be the mother I was meant to be, that if I was to go with her, I’d be throwing my life away, all for a girl I’d only just met. But my mind was already made up. I wasn’t going to lose her. She had found a special place in my heart to where I felt like I would follow her anywhere… then I saw her talking with a sea crew, and I knew… I knew she would be going with them, so… I packed my bags and waited for her to come and try to say goodbye… but she never got the chance. I didn’t realize it was a pirate ship until I boarded the ship, but knowing that Jeuleka was there helped calm my nerves.” Rose chuckled “Jeuleka seemed right at home out on the open sea, but me… I was sea sick for the first month and a half. But once I got over that, I began to enjoy myself and fell in love with the sea myself.” Marinette’s jaw was dropped  
“What kind of parents would disown their child just for being a good friend?” she asked exasperated. Rose smiled  
“Thank you Marinette, but… things are very different where I come from… I think they were afraid I’d be turned into a Siren”  
“Oh… that makes sense” they were silent for a moment longer before Rose asked  
“How did you know about that Siren before?” Marinette paused for a moment, trying to think how best to explain it  
“I recognized the song”  
“Come again?”  
“My home is in the middle of the ocean. We care for all the sea life, no matter what the species… including the Sirens” Rose pulled her feet up to sit criss-crossed as Mari continued “The Sirens… they’re not quite like us. They didn’t start out from the sea like the rest of the creatures, no, they were tortured, innocent souls, killed out at sea. The story of the very first Siren goes like this… During the time when it was common, a girl and a merman were friends. He would travel to meet her on land, and she would row out to meet him. One day, all the women and children from her village were forced to board a ship after having their home destroyed and all their men of age killed. The women were tortured, beaten, abused, taken advantage of causing some unwanted pregnancies, but eventually, they were all killed… all but her. They used her, beat her and shared her like some sort of doll. She would use to sing herself to sleep, but after she was the last one left, every time she opened her mouth, they would come for her… she died giving birth to her fifth stillborn child. After she died, they tossed her overboard like all the others before her, and she sank to the bottom. When the merman found her, he wept, as he wished that the tortured innocent could have lived with him forever. She started glowing with the transformation, until finally she appeared like a mermaid, but with pointy teeth and pointed ears. The merman was so happy that she was alive, but she had changed… after all the torment and torture she went through for years… after losing all her friends, giving birth to the dead, and being used over and over again… her beautiful heart had darkened. She swam away until she found the very ship that abused her so… she sang to distract them, leading them towards dangerously high rocks, causing their ship to crash. She drowned every single man on the ship. But when the women and children from their last port fell, the moment they drowned, they were transformed into her likeness.” Rose blinked wide-eyed  
“Did that really happen?” Marinette nodded  
“It’s where the legends that a mermaid can grant a wish, and that women are bad sea luck comes from” Rose shook her head sadly  
“So that’s why everyone is afraid of women at sea… that… actually makes a lot of sense” Marinette placed a hand on her shoulder  
“You don’t have to worry Rose. The song only works on men, and seeing as how this ship has just as many women aboard as it does men, I’d say we’re pretty safe” she smiled “Plus, you can always break the enchantment with true loves kiss-”  
“Or singing the Song of The Sea” Rose put in. Mari blinked a moment… she COULDN’T tell her that the reason it worked was because SHE herself had been singing… that only a Mermaid’s song can actually cancel out that of a Sirens… so she nodded nervously  
“R-right… or, y-you know, a-any song that can be louder than the Sirens… the Song of The Sea just happened to be the first song that came to mind… actually… it’s a personal favorite of mine… my mother used to sing it to me when I was a little girl, so…” Rose smiled bright and clear as Mari handed her back the small bundle “hey, could you help me stand up?” Mari asked. Rose jumped to her feet and, using her unoccupied arm, helped Marinette to her feet. From there Mari took the bundle back and walked back over to her bed. Rose smiled at the sight of the newest crew member cooing over the little bird  
“We’ve been keeping him in a create up till now, but if you want, I could see if maybe we have a birdcage somewhere so he can stay in your room” Mari looked up to her  
“That would be wonderful”  
“I’ll see if Jeuleka can help. Rest up now” Rose greeted as she made her way out of the room.

Rose and Jeuleka searched for an hour before they finally found the birdcage… it was filthy. The two quickly took it to the washroom, discussing their conversations with Marinette. “She told me she’s never been to the beach… isn’t that sad?”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah.”  
“She’s also never seen dogs or sheep before” Jeuleka stopped scrubbing and looked at the only other in the room  
“Seriously?” Rose nodded as she continued to scrub  
“Seriously. Although, she may know a LOT about sea life, I think she wants to learn more about land life as well… she’s looked through just about every book in the room, although maybe it’d be better if she were able to read them”  
“She can’t read?”  
“She says our written language is different from her homes” Jeuleka stares for a moment more before beginning to help scrub again  
“We should do something about that”  
“We should tell Chat” they both paused before beginning to giggle like a couple of little school girls as they continued to scrub the cage.

“Oh, Chat!” Rose exclaimed with excitement as the two girls made their way back towards Marinette’s room. “We were just talking about you”  
“Oh? May I ask what about?”  
“Actually” Jeuleka corrected “we were talking about Marinette”  
“M-Marinette?” he asked as his cheeks gave off a slight pinkish tint. Both girls looked on with knowing smirks  
“Do you realize that after all this time, she can’t read?” Rose asked  
“What?”  
“And not only that, apparently she’s never seen real animals, or even been to the beach… although, she’d like to”  
“… she told you this?” the two girls nodded  
“Soooo” Rose drug on  
“We were thinking of teaching her to read” Jeuleka finished. “But then, we both have our responsibilities to take care of, so…”  
“Would you teach her Chat?” Rose asked. Chat blinked in surprise, clearing his throat as he pulled at his collar  
“Me?”  
“Of course! You already taught her to walk, and she’s doing soooo good. So now, you have time to teach her other things, like how to read, or how to dance-”  
“D-dance?” the two giggled at how uncomfortable he seemed to be at the moment… sweating like a pig… could he be more obvious?  
“Or maybe you could show her around at the next port, maybe take her to the beach, or to a nice field somewhere” Jeuleka smirked as the poor boy did his best to avoid eye contact. “You know, we should probably get back to the laundry… Chat, would you mind delivering this to Marinette for us?” she asked as she handed out the like-new birdcage. Chat blinked in suerprise  
“Huh?”  
“Oh YES! Please Chat, we really must be going and she’s gonna want to put Kawmii down at some point so she can finish her letter” Rose jumped in  
“Herletter?” he mumbled, hadn’t she told him she didn’t have a family of her own? Then who would she be- he shook his head, dismissing his thoughts “Right, yes, I’ll do that” with that he took the birdcage from the girls and they went their separate ways.

The two girls giggled as they made their rounds delivering the folded laundry, just stopping outside a certain creaked open door  
“So you’re telling me that this entire time you haven’t been able to read anything?” Mari shook her head while his dropped in disappointment “why didn’t you tell me?”  
“It’s nothing bad Chat, I just don’t understand your written language. I bet if I let you try to read something from my home, you wouldn’t understand it either. It just shows that we come from two different worlds” for some reason, that stung the heart more than it should have… for both of them. Chat cleared his throat  
“I’ll teach you” she looked up at him wide-eyed  
“What?”  
“I’ll teach you our written language. It’d be no good for you to accidently cause yourself harm because you couldn’t read a warning, and you may enjoy the books more if you can read them for yourself”  
“Idon’tmindyoureadingthemtome” she mumbled. They both blushed furiously at the realization that she had said that out loud, avoiding eye contact the best they could. After a moment of awkward silence, Mari brushed a strand of hair behind her ear nervously “S-so… you want to… t-teach me to read?” she chanced a glance from the side of her eyes and saw him nod cautiously “Alright… b-but in return, I teach YOU to read too” his head shot up to her  
“What?”  
“It’s like you said, it’d be no good to you OR your crew if something were to happen to you because you didn’t recognize the writing… there are countless warnings written all throughout the sea, but you may not notice them if you don’t recognize them… My people wrote them, and understand them, but I have high doubts that you would even notice them, especially since most of them are carved into rocks, and, compared to your written language, look like scribbles… in fact, now that I think about it, we should have passed one before entering into that sirens den…” Chat looked a little sheepish  
“Really?” she sighed as she stood up and made her way over to him  
“That’s it. I’ve decided. You’re going to learn our written language. Not just for pleasure, but for your safety.” She lifted her hand and gently rested it on his pink cheek “The sea is a dangerous place Chat, and… I’ve already lost Adrien, I don’t want to lose you too” his heart skipped a beat. Surely, she couldn’t mean…  
“Have you given up on Adrien?” the question was out before he even knew it was on his mind. Why did he ask that? Why was his heart pounding? What if she said yes? Wait, isn’t that what he wanted? For her to forget about Adrien so she could have a decent life? No. That wasn’t true anymore, because now, he knew her. He’d met the girl of his dreams and now he was absolutely smitten. He didn’t WANT to give her up anymore, he wanted her to stay safe by his side, to be the one to make her smile, to make her laugh… he wanted to show her things she’d never seen, teach her things she’d never learned, show her what a true gentleman he could be, watch the stars with her, be with her, have a family with her… heck, all it would take was to lean down those few inches between them and FINALLY show her what he wanted, how he felt, that’s all it would take, she was so close- She shook her head  
“No… I know he’s still out there, I just… you’re my friend Chat, I don’t want anything to happen to you” his heart sunk a little at being just a friend, but he relaxed into her soft hand just the same as she began to rub his cheek with her thumb.  
Rose and Jeuleka both smiled to each other as they gently closed the door fully, Rose humming softly as they continued making their way to the next cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S DONE!!!  
> *phew* Dang this chapter took me FOREVER!  
> lol, I hope you guys like it.
> 
> Don't forget to like, comment, and share with your friends  
> and again, THANK YOU for your patience... bye for now  
> ;)


	15. Big Friendly Advice (Ivan's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first off... THANK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND PATIENCE WITH ME!!!!  
> Seriously, you guys have NO IDEA how much you all mean to me...  
> Secondly... IT'S AU AUGUST!!!!!!So of COURSE I'm gonna update TCAMH this month... in fact... you might even get TWO chapters this month! ^_^ .... don't hold me to it in case I can't finish it in time, but... lets just say, Chapter 15 was getting pretty long, and to be honest, halfway through we switched POV Characters, so... in other words, Chapter 16 is already in the making... hopefully it won't be TOO long before I can deliver, but also try to remember... TWO jobs, BILLS to pay, THREE other stories, I'm gonna be going to MATSURICON this month with a friend from work (I'm going as my OC, Annita Artiste... if you're on Ladybug Amino, I'll be posting a picture(s) of how I'll be dressed, if you're there and want to say Hi!), and of course I need sleep... ESPECIALLY since my Tourrettes seems to be more active when I'm stressed, starved, or tired, so... while I appreciate all you've done for me, please be patient with me... I promise to TRY to have the next story up within the month, but if I can't... I'm sorry...  
> Now...  
> Without further ado...  
> Ivan's POV  
> (Don't forget to comment what you think of this chapter, and share with your friends ^_^ )

“Out, out, out, out!” Ivan laughed as his beloved little wife pushed him out the door of the kitchen. He wasn’t really putting up a big fight, but it was simply adorable that she’d want him out of the way so she could get to baking… turns out, it seems their sweet little Marinette has never had pastries, let alone bread, so naturally… his wife would want to make something for her, so naturally… he would be kicked out  
“Common Maylene, I promise I won’t eat all the batter this time” he chuckled  
“No, no, no! Out, out, OUT! I absolutely HAVE to make this bread for Marinette, and last time I let you help me bake, you ate HALF of the deserts before they were even in the OVEN!” he full out belly laughed as the door slammed behind him. She was right not to trust him with the deserts. She KNEW his sweet tooth was probably as big as her heart… it was one of the ways he first ACTUALLY noticed her… he had been trying to make up a batch of oatmeal cookies for desert that night, and, well… to say he “made a mess” was an understatement (it seriously looked like a hurricane had flown through the cabin… cracked eggs, dirty dishes all over the place, a layer of flower EVERYWHERE), Maylene took one look at the room, then at him, grabbed the broom, shoved it into his hands and pushed him aside as she began to create the most delicious batch of oatmeal raisin cookies he had ever tasted… by memory… from SCRATCH… he watched her in amazement as he got to work cleaning up his mess… from that moment on, he never looked at her the same again… Ivan smiled at the sweet memory as he made his way up to the main deck.  
It had been seven days…  
Seven days since Maylene gave him the news…  
Seven days since he spun his wife through the air in complete joy…  
Seven days since their three years of patience had FINALLY paid off…  
Seven days since he cried for joy as he held his beloved…  
Seven days since he was told that all of his dreams were coming true.  
Ivan smiled as he passed the arguing Nino and Nathaniel, (it would seem that the latter hadn’t realized the last time they were ported and slept through it), Rose and Jeuleka who were busy gossiping as the hung the linen to dry, Alix and Kym (who were making swabbing the deck into some sort of race), and Max (who seemed to be busy either writing a letter, or taking some notes). Ivan stopped at the very end of the deck, leaning on the railing as he took a deep breath of the salty sea air. His smile grew. He loved the sea. He loved this ship. He loved the crew. He loved his job. He loved his wife… he loved his little family.  
*Squawk*  
Ivan blinked as he felt something land on his head. He looked up, only to come face to face with a little rainbow bird that was perched on his head. “Oh… Hello there”  
*Squawk*  
“Kawamii? Where did you go?... Oh. Hello… Ivan, right?” Ivan looked over to see Marinette ascending the stairs to the upper deck… before she paused her next step and tried to cover her giggle as he felt the little bird jump as he turned around on his head to call to the girl. Mari finished filling the gap between them and gently plucked the bird from his head, allowing the bird to sit on her shoulder instead (and rub his head against her cheek affectionately). Ivan nodded. “I’m Marinette. It’s nice to finally meet you. Maylene talks about you all the time, and the meals you make are absolutely amazing! I’ve never had the chance to properly thank you” Ivan nodded again as Mari set herself beside him, imitating his pose by leaning against the railing overlooking the Ocean. Mari took a deep breath in, held it, then let it release in a content sigh “I love the Ocean. It’s where I grew up, you know? My family… I was born into the world of the Sea, schooled on all things Sea life, and raised to know how to properly care for each creature I met… no matter the species” Iven grunted as he looked out over the ocean, letting her know he was listening “When I was little, I accidently ran into a Sea Urchin… I cried for what felt like hours, but really, was probably only about ten minutes, until my grandmother carefully removed the released spines, then cleaned and wrapped the wound with her ointment and seaweed wrap” Ivan chuckled a little at the fact that… here was this girl, that he was officially JUST meeting for the first time, and yet, she seemingly felt comfortable enough around him to just… open up to him about her childhood? It was absurd. Even his beloved wife, when they first met, had screamed at seeing/running into him. And who could blame her? He was HUGE, basically a giant in comparison… even to his own parents. He was use to people freaking out at the first sight of him (even if he could never even hurt a fly), so to have this… tiny little thing just open up to him like they were childhood friends or something… he could see why his beloved wife was so intrigued with her “afterwards” she continued “we made sure the urchin was okay, then Papa helped moved the little thing out of the way so no one would step on him again, and he could live in peace” Ivan hummed his acknowledgement “You’re not much of a talker, are you?” Ivan turned his head to see her glancing at him from the corner of her eyes as she smirked. Ivan chucked again  
“I’m more your friendly, quiet giant” Mari beamed at finally getting him to talk “I must say though… I’m actually quite surprised… you’re not scared of me?” that earned a questioning look from the girl  
“Why would I be scared of you? You seem quite nice and gentle, and with the way Maylene talks about you…”  
“I’m just use to people taking one look at me and running for the hills” he answered honestly “the fact that you can so easily open up to me, having just met me officially, it’s all kinda funny to me” Mari frowned as she turned to face him properly  
“Well that’s just stupid” he stopped laughing and his smile fell a little… what did she mean… that was stupid… “People shouldn’t judge you just based on how you look, no matter what your size, age, gender, or features… people should get to actually know you before they actually make that assumption… myself included… I’ll admit it… when I first learned that our Captain was Chat Noir… I was afraid… n-not because of how he looked, actually if I’m being honest here, hekindatookmybreathaway, b-but b-because I-I had been warned about the dreaded Chat Noir… that he would hurt me if he found me… but then… I actually got to know him, and now… I think we’re friends. It seems kinda silly now to think that he actually scared me so much that I fell overboard… then he jumped in and saved me… twice… I… I’veneverthankedhim” her eyes widened at the realization. Ivan however, just smirked. He wasn’t sure if her ever realized what she’d actually said out loud, that she’d just admitted that she found his Captain attractive, that she admitted that he’d actually SAVED her multiple times, that she considered him a friend… he wondered how she’d react if she knew how the Captain actually felt about her… heck, he was actually surprised that she seemed to be clueless of his feelings, I mean, it was SO obvious to literally EVERYONE on the ship, EXCEPT, it seems, the girl herself. Ivan smiled as he shook his head  
“If you wanted to thank him… I think he’d like that” Mari’s blush covered her entire face and neck as she seemed to realize that she’d said all of that out loud. “In fact, I’m sure Mayleye or one of the other ladies would be willing to help you” Ivan’s grin grew wider as her eyes widened in horror as her blush grew darker by the second  
“SO, Ivan, how did you become a Pirate?!” she asked a little louder than needed. Ivan full out belly laughed  
“Alright, alright. I get it, you don’t want to talk about it, right?” Mari just bounced on her toes as she tried to avoid eye contact. Ivan ended his laughter as he wiped a tear from his eye “My name is Ivan Bruel. Son to Cathlyne and Sean Bruel… vegetation farmers” that caught her attention. He smirked as he continued “I grew up learning to farm. How to plant, how to build, how to tend to and care for vegetation and livestock. Although my main job was tending to the young livestock… especially the runts that the mothers would abandon. Both of my parents are vegetarian, I grew up on a vegetarian diet, but no matter what we did, or what I did or didn’t eat, I still continued to grow and grow. And I would eat more and more… by the time I was thirteen, I had surpassed my own father in size, the tallest man in our family… I realized that I couldn’t stay there forever. If I did, then I’d just eat them out of house and home. So… I said my goodbyes and made my way into the city.  
I was able to score a room at a local Pub for pretty cheap, which was good, because by then, I was so exhausted… but I couldn’t sleep. Someone in the main room was yelling so loud, I could nearly make out each word, even from my room on the top floor with the door shut… I decided to check things out, so I made my way out the main entrance. I was exhausted from my trip, and ended up having to clear my throat as I came down the stairs. I gained everyone’s attention as I finally saw this gruff looking man roughly handling a girl probably half his age. My face turned firm as I continued my decent towards the creep. His face lost all color as he suddenly dropped the girl and went running for the hills. I guess it was good that I looked that gruff at only thirteen… not that he’d known my age. The girl jumped to her feet and ran into the open arms of the man behind the counter. He in turn, thanked me for saving his daughter from the drunk mess of a man, then he offered me a free meal as a thanks… that was my first time trying meat. And I suddenly had an idea… I offered to be bouncer for his pub, protecting his teenaged daughter from anymore ruffians, in exchange for cooking lessons until she married and was safe with a husband of her own… he not only agreed, but offered me a room to stay in for free.  
It didn’t even take a year for the girl to find love with the fish peddler that often stopped by during his routs… they married, and the last I heard, were expecting their fifth child. After she left the home, I was able to put all my cooking lessons to work by helping in the kitchen by day.  
Three years later, I met Captain Chat. He’d come to our town seeking a cook… it seems that while his grandfather had retired, the majority of that crew had as well… including the cook. So he was working to rebuild his own crew. I had come out to see what all the fuss was about… Chat took one look at me, smiled and asked how my day was going… it was the first time someone didn’t seem scared of me. We spoke frequently during his stay. Then he asked if I’d be interested in joining his crew. Of course I hesitated. After all the Pub master had done for me, I wasn’t just going to just abandon him… but then the old man put his hand on my shoulder and told me that our contract ended when his daughter married, and that it was my choice whether I wanted to join the crew or stay there… the next morning, I boarded with the Captain as the new cook… later that year, I met Maylene for the first time”  
“Well, I’m glad you did… Maylene told me her story… she really loves you. You make her really happy every time she talks about you” Mari beamed. Ivan’s smile turned soft as he thought about his little family  
“I love her too. More than anything in this world… no, correction, she IS my whole world. I’ve never been happier than when I’m with her” Marinette nearly melted at just how ADORABLE the two seemed to be for each other  
“PRINCESS!” Ivan and Marinette turned to see their dear Captain running up the stairs, not stopping until he was directly in front of her, then he immediately started fussing over her  
“Chat?” Mari asked in confusion  
“Marinette, are you okay? Are you hurt? Why did you run away?” Chat rushed out as he held her face in his hands  
“Chat what are you talking about?”  
“I went to your room for your walking lessons, and found it empty. I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE for you! Why did you leave? Where did you go?!” Chat blinked as he seemed to realize just where they were “How did you get up here?”  
“Chat, slow down… I’m fine. Kawamii got out, so I just came out to try to find him” she smiled reassuringly. His eyes grew wide as his jaw dropped  
“You walked out here by yourself?” She smiled brightly in response  
*Squawk*  
Chat looked at the bird, his thinking face in place “I’m not sure whether I should be grateful to the little pest or annoyed” just then he sneezed three times in a row “Yep… definitely annoyed” her glared at the bird  
“Eh-hm, uh, am I interrupting here?” Chat looked over and finally noticed Ivan standing there. Chats eyes grew again as he looked back to Mari and realized he was still holding her face. He jumped back, a deep red taking over his face  
“I-Ivan, how- h-how long have you been standing there?”  
“He was just telling me how you two met before you came up” Mari answered  
“Oh… right, well…” the two stood in awkward silence, and Ivan internally laughed at the position they had just put themselves into… it reminded him of the first time he tried to confess to Maylene. Speaking of Maylene…  
“Well, I’m gonna go check on Maylene. You two have fun” he heard Mari giggle as Chat exclaimed  
“You’re just gonna LEAVE?!” in a panicked voice… and yes. That’s exactly what he was going to do. Just like that was EXACTLY what Chat had done to HIM three years ago… ah, there’s no dish better than sweet, sweet revenge.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait? We don’t HAVE to tell them yet if you’re not ready” Ivan stated as Maylene worked on decorating the desert before her… he knew she wanted to make bread for the Captain’s girl, he didn’t realize that she’d also be making an announcement cake as well  
“Ivan, it’s not going to be long before I’m not going to be able to hide it anymore, and we’re a part of a small crew… people will notice when I start getting sick all of the sudden, and the LAST thing we need is everyone worrying about me for no apparent reason”  
“It’s not no apparent reason. Maylene you mean so much to everyone on board this ship, myself included. We care about you. And if you were to suddenly get sick, yes we would fuss over you, but that’s BECAUSE we care about you. I love you Maylene”  
“I love you too. But we really need to tell them soon anyway, seeing as how at least Max will need to know, since HE’S the doctor on this ship” she smirked “So I just figured… what the heck, why not just tell everyone at once? After everything we’ve all been through… especially Marinette and Chat… I think we could all use some good news, don’t you?” Ivan chuckled… she was right… as always  
“How does the saying go?... Happy wife, happy life?”  
“And don’t you forget it” she tapped his nose with her icing spoon. Ivan laughed again as he hugged his beloved from behind, bending down to kiss her cheek, causing the smaller girl to giggle “Alright, alright, stop. Now go gather everyone to the main deck while I plate these rolls and croissants, and find a lid big enough to cover the cake”  
“Yes ma’am”

Ivan’s heart was pounding out of his chest as he stood there with Maylene at his side. He could do this. THEY could do this. It was just a few little words, how hard could they be? Ivan gulped, then felt his wife’s hand slide into his… he could do this. Maylene had demanded that no one was to touch a single roll until absolutely everyone was present and she gave the okay, and everyone knew… you NEVER disobey Mrs. Cook. Everyone was busy socializing as they waited for the signal… finally at the appearance of Captain Chat and Marinette, he felt Maylene squeeze his hand. He looked down and she nodded. That was the signal. He cleared his throat. “I’d like to take the time to thank everyone for coming tonight, you see, a little birdie told my beloved that she’d never had pastries before” all eyes, including Chat’s, turned to look at Mari, who was currently trying to hide behind the Captain in embarrassment “seeing as how my beloved considers that like a personal sin, she set to remedy that problem. You have these two women to thank for this treat tonight.” Ivan watched as there were nods and thank you’s shot out towards both girls “However” that gained everyone’s attention once more “Before we allow you to have your fill of these delicious breads and desserts, Maylene and I have an announcement” his palms were getting sweaty, but he couldn’t wipe them on his pants, because he was NOT about to let go of her hand “Maylene and I…. W-we’re” man, he hasn’t been this nervous since he announced they were engaged  
“I’m pregnant”  
The whole deck was dead silent as it settled in, then, all at once the entire crew seemed to shout and cheer for joy  
“THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!” Chat Noir shouted

The band was in full swing as everyone danced, sang, socialized and began to dig into all the rolls, croissants, deserts, and the “Welcome Baby” cake. At hearing their announcement, literally EVERYONE came up to congratulate the two expecting parents… Maylene being surrounded be the girls, with their giggles, hugs, questions, and cheer, while he was bombarded by all the guys, with laughter, pats on the shoulder, warm/firm handshakes, and teasing… lots of teasing… It had taken them three years of trying… but it was all worth it. How does the saying go?... all good things to those who wait.  
Ivan smiled as he glanced around the happy crew, eyes landing on his beloved wife who seemed to have grabbed one of each pastry for Marinette to try… he chuckled at seeing how the girls face lit up her first bite of the croissant Maylene just handed her. Maylene, his adorable little wife, appeared to be busy explaining something… knowing her, probably the specifications needed for making the perfect roll or bread. Ivan watched them fondly… he couldn’t believe how lucky he seemed to be at that very moment. “Congrats again Ivan. You’ll make a wonderful father” Ivan glanced to his side through his eyes to see Captain Chat standing at his side, glancing in the same direction he just had been… the direction of Maylene and Marinette  
“Thanks Captain Chat. That means a lot… and I suppose I should also thank you for the push you gave me three years ago to actually make my first move… I can honestly say that I’ve never been so happy in all my life as I am in this very moment… in fact… I intend to repay the favor” Ivan smirked. Chat turned to look at the taller man  
“What do you mean?”  
“No offense Captain, but you’d have to be blind, deaf and just stupid not to see how much you care for her” Chat’s eyes widened as he tried (and failed) to come up with SOME sort of retort… unfortunately, all that came out was sputtering stutters. Ivan shook his head “Captain… I’m gonna repeat to you something that a great man once told me when I was struggling with my own heart issues… I don’t know why you seem set in your mind that you need to push her away, but your heart seems to be making more actions than you seem to realize… you care for her. It’s clear as day. And she cares for you, you just have to get out there and show her much she really means to you. By pushing her away, all you’re really doing is hurting her… you don’t want to hurt her, do you?” Chat crossed his arms as he glared at the giant of a man  
“I’m the one who told you that, Ivan” Ivan only smirked at that. Chat sighed as he relaxed his stance, before a small chuckle came to the front “I can’t believe you still remember that… that was three years ago”  
“They’re true though… those were the words that gave me the courage I needed to actually try and talk to Maylene… of course I remember them, and if we have a son, then someday I’ll tell them to him as well. I told you… a great man once told me them… maybe it’s time he start taking his own advice” Chat’s smile fell slightly as he turned to look back at the girls, a look of deep longing clear as day swimming in his eyes. Ivan smiled at his Captain. It won’t be long now before the Captain finally admits to himself just how much she means to him, and then he can confess to her, then the whole crew could be complete… just then, Ivan caught ear of the song that was playing “Excuse me Captain, I do believe I owe my beloved a dance”


	16. Not Adrien, YOU!!! (Chat, Rose, & Adrien's POVs)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm dedicating this chapter to a fellow Ladybug Amino user... miraaculousmember4life... thank you for all the comments, likes, props and messages... I made you a promise I'd have it done by the end of today, so here it is... hope you like it (it's kinda a filler chapter, hope that's okay... still figuring out how I want Kym's POV to go)  
> =^_^=

Chat watched as Ivan made his way over to the ladies, before collecting his wife and leading her to the dance floor. He smiled as he watched the two together… dancing like all the world was in the palm of their hands… which, he guessed, if you’d ask them… it was. They danced and laughed as they spun and jumped to the music, just the same as the day they married. Chat smiled fondly at the sight. It wasn’t often that he got to witness an actual happy family… no matter how small. Ever since his mother had passed, his father had grown cold, he’d been forbidden to interact with anyone his father disapproved of (which mainly consisted of… everybody), he was placed under the care of the most stoic woman he had ever met (even to this day)… sure, he’d glanced at love from a distance, seeing it through Alya and Nino, as Max chose to leave Sabrina, the way Rose looked at Jeuleka… but there was something different with Ivan and Maylene… and that their small family was growing… Chat sighed as he allowed himself just a moment to wish that someone could look at him the way Maylene looks at Ivan… he heard a slight gasp, and turned his head to see… the other guy had been staring at her for far too long, and now he was… heading Towards HER?! Chat’s smile fell as he suddenly went to confront him- just to be stopped by Nino’s hand on his chest  
“Dude, no. Just wait. She’s a strong girl. If she needs our help, she’ll let us know, but if you jump in too soon with her…” Nino cut himself off there as they watched Tomato-head sit down next to Marinette, his back facing the boys. Her face went from surprised to fury as she began telling him off. He lowered his head, and her anger seemed to subside to a calm domineer. She seemed to be listening to what he seemed to be saying, but soon, her face began to look confused. She said something to the redhead before her look shot from surprise to skepticism to nervous, she seemed to be having trouble finding the words, and the longer it went on, the more troubled her face became… he could see it… she was starting to stutter, she kept wiping her hands on her dress… Chat couldn’t take it anymore and he pushed past Nino’s hand “Dude!” he had to save her  
“Marinette” he called with a happy voice as he neared her. She turned to see Chat approaching and relief began to swim in the girls eyes as she watched him getting closer… the redhead was still talking and hadn’t seemed to notice their Captain’s call… he DID however, lift his hand to turn Mari’s attention back on him… Chat sped up his walk… “Princess” he stated as he stood beside her chair, Nathaniel FINALLY seeming to notice they were no longer alone  
“Excuse me Captain, but Marinette and I were jus-”  
“May I have this dance?” he ignored the other man, having eyes for only her… her relief turned to surprise at his request, to outright embracement  
“Hey! I’m talking her-”  
“I-I… d-don’t know how to dance” she confessed, giving the Captain all her attention  
“is anybody LISTENING to me? I SAID we were-”  
“Then I’ll teach you” Chat stated calmly as he smiled down at her  
“YOU CAN’T JUST INTERRUPT SOMEONE LIKE-”  
“Well, you are a pretty good teacher” Chat’s smile grew to a pleased-with-himself grin as she giggled as his reaction  
“WE. WERE. TALKI-”  
“Shall we?” Chat bowed as he extended his hand out for her to take… which she softly did… before he pulled her to her feet and led her to the middle of the dancefloor, leaving a flabbergasted Nathaniel behind in his place. 

“Okay, so you seem to be doing well on your feet, that’s good. But still, we’ll take this nice and slow, alright?” she nodded her confirmation as she glanced around to all other dancing couples, seeing their joyous faces as they laughed and cheered along with the music while they danced to the rhythm. “Okay, first, I take your right hand into my left” the moment their hands touched he had her full attention. He gulped. “N-next, you place your other hand on my shoulder” she obeyed with ease “a-and I place mine…” he hesitated for a moment before coming to rest his other hand on her hip “i-is this okay?” he whispered. She nodded. He gulped. “Okay, okay, so… next we’re going to move, alright? I’m going to take my right foot, and step towards you. You take your right foot and step backwards, l-like this” she gasped as her attention shot from his face down to their feet, her grip on him tightening as she took her first step backwards. “Good. Now, take your other foot to stand beside it” she nodded nervously as she moved her right foot to stand beside the other, him moving along in time with her. “Great. Now, take your left foot and step to your left” she obeyed as he mirrored her movement “Now move your right foot to right beside it” she did “Perfect. Now, step towards me with your left foot… now bring them together… excellent. Now, take your right foot and step to your right… now bring them together… beautiful. Now, we repeat. Back… left…. Forward… right… good” Mari giggled as she gained more confident with each step they took  
“What is this dance called?”  
“The box step. I figured, for your first dance, you should probably start with the basics first” she nodded in agreement as they continued with each step. He watched her study their feet as they moved until the last of the song finished off. They were both broken from their trances by the sound of applause, before another song started up. Chat turned back to the woman in his hands and cleared his throat “May I have another dance?” she nodded and they began up again. Chat smiled softly as he watched her watching her feet, a deep look of concentration on her face… chat chuckled before he paused their movement, and used a gentle hand to lift her head, apparently, to her surprise. “Keep your eyes on me” her wide eyes met his as he began to lead them back into the box step, neither one taking their eyes off the other. He let her get use to following his lead before he introduced another step into the dance… she followed along perfectly. It wasn’t too long before they had claimed the entire dance floor… not that they even noticed, since they were both lost in each other’s eyes  
“WOO-HOO! GO MARS! GET HER CAPS!”  
Chat blinked as he finally registered that… no, they actually weren’t alone… and yes, Alix DID just say that… he cleared his throat as they continued to dance “S-so…” he began, bringing Mari back to the real world just as Alix did him “are… are you enjoying yourself?” Mari’s smile grew  
“I’ve never had so much fun in my life” her eyes seemed to sparkle with her excitement  
“That’s great… I’m glad” they continued to dance in silence a few minutes more until the song ended. When they stopped, everyone around them cheered. Chat blushed in embarrassment as he started to remove himself… just to have her grip tighten. He looked back to the girl in confusion  
“Once more?” she asked, a pleading look in her eyes, and, well… how could he say no to that? He went to take stance again, but she shook her head… then she took the hand holding hers and placed it on her other hip, as she raised her now free hand to his other shoulder. She glanced down to the side  
“This is how my people dance” she admitted with a slight blush, before she looked back into his eyes. Chat gulped. He’d known of this kind of dance, but he’d never had the chance (let alone nerve) to practice it “is this okay?” she asked shyly… could she get any cuter?  
“It’s more than okay” he whispered as he began to lead them into another dance. They moved in sync with each other for what felt like hours, and honestly, Chat had never felt so alive as he did in that moment… he chuckled  
“You know… your legs are gonna feel like jelly in the morning at this rate” he teased  
“I don’t care” she stated plainly. Chat’s smile lowered a little as he finally noticed… she was looking at his chest but her mind was somewhere else, her grip on his shoulders tightened… not as if she didn’t want to let go, but almost like… she REFUSED to let go, her breathing was harder than usual… his smile fell a little more as he realized… she was using this as a distraction… that there was a REASON she didn’t want to stop dancing… he tried to think of anything he could have done to upset her, anyway he could have hurt her, any chance she had seemed upse- his smile fell completely as the very recent memory flew through his head… they kept dancing  
“What did he say to you?” she was silent, and he could only hope she’d confide in him with the truth  
“He…” she began “he apologized… for our last meeting” she still wouldn’t look at him… she was still holding back  
“and this upset you?” she shook her head. He knew it… that stupid tomato-head “What else did he say to you?” she remained quiet “Mari”  
“He… he asked me how I could be so sure… what were my true intentions for finding Adrien, then…” she took a silent breath in “he accused me of being in love with him” well… that was a cold bucket of water over Chat’s head  
“What do you mean, accused? DON’T you love him?” her eyes shot up to meet his, but then lowered back to their previous position  
“I… I don’t know… I-I’ve never… he said that I’d have to be, why else would I cross an ocean just to find him? That if I really didn’t want him for the riches, fame or glory, then that MUST be the reason I’d willingly allow myself into the company of the most feared Pirate in all the world, but…”  
“Is this really all just about a coat to you?” Chat asked, sounding hurt  
“Chat, I-”  
“Are you really just planning on giving him back his stupid coat, and then, what? Abandoning him?” they stopped dancing. His eyes looked so hurt  
“What? Chat, no, that’s not what I-”  
“Have ever once considered Adrien’s feelings in the matter?”  
“Adrien’s feelings? Wha- we only met one time Chat, what kind of feelings could he possibly have-”  
“Geeze Marinette, have you never heard of Love at first sight?” Mari gasped as she took a step back in shock, her eyes as wide as saucers “and it wasn’t just one time, Marinette. He saw you before that… every night… in his dreams… for YEARS… he told me…” he collected himself “Adrien told me that the moment he first laid eyes on you back in the lake, he recognized you as the woman who has been haunting his every dream since he was a boy. He told me that he’d gone back the next day and couldn’t find you. He told me that he’d intended to ask to court you, to get to know you, and eventually… possibly ask for your hand… but you were gone. He would have left everything… EVERYTHING Marinette, for you… just to make you happy. But you know what… I’m glad he didn’t find you. I’m glad he ran away. And I’m glad Chat Noir found him first. Because he’s been hurt enough by the people he loved, abandoned enough by the people he cared about, and if he were to have actually have met YOU, before he met ME… then it would have been YOU who ended up killing him!” With that, Chat stormed away, pushing past Kym and Ivan as he went, Nino hot on his trail.  
Marinette just stood there… shocked… absorbing everything he’d said to her with her jaw dropped… did… d-did he just say… her legs collapsed under her and Rose and Alix rushed to help her back to her feet and guided the now crying girl back to her room… what a way to end the party…

Marinette was staring off into space by the time Rose and Alix got her tucked into bed. The two other women looked at each other with worried expressions before turning back to look at the poor hurt girl before them. “Marinette… are you okay?”  
“He hates me… doesn’t he?” the two women looked in shock… of all the things to say… THAT was her first question?!  
“Why would you ask that?” Alix asked calmly as she lowered herself to be eye level with Marinette. Unblinking, she turned to look at Alix and burst into another round of tears as she fell into the pinkette’s chest, mumbling  
“He…hehatesme…I…Ican’tbelievehehatesme…howcouldIbesostupidtothinkwecouldactuallybefriends?Whydoeshekeeptryingtohurtme?Imustbeamachonistathtisrate…whycan’tIstopthinkingabouthim?Whyishealwaysonmymind?Whyishealwayslyingtome?Doeshedoitonpurpose?DoIreallymeansolittletohimwhenhe’sactuallybecomeingoneoftheonlythingsIcanthinkabout?...howcanIbesostupid?Andwhydoesithurtsomuchtoeventhinkhehatesme?...Chat…” Alix held her, allowed her to cry, shushing her the way a mother would a crying child, rubbing small, comforting circles on her back…  
Rose stayed back and watched the scene unfold… it didn’t escape her notice that the bluenette wasn’t talking about the Prince… heck, she hadn’t even brought up that Chat had been publicly yelling about how he was glad she hadn’t found Adrien first… no… all she was talking about was him… their Captain Chat Noir… about how he must hate her… how now he really WOULD abandon her… and how much that hurt her heart… Rose’s ever present smile had disappeared the moment the girl had collapsed on the main deck, and it hasn’t come back yet… Rose was an Empath… she could sympathize with others in a way that no one else on the crew could. And right now, as she watched one of her dear friends crying (not for the first time) and blaming HERSELF, as if SHE were to blame… there had been very few to ignite this feeling she was currently having, within her… she was like a loving mother-figure to everyone on the ship (especially seeing as about half the crew grew up without a mother around, so her coddling was welcomed with open arms), and if there’s one thing to know about a mother, of any and ALL species, it’s that you DON’T mess with their children…  
“I’m gonna step out for a moment” Rose stated calmly once she saw Alix tuck in a now sadly sleeping Marinette  
“Where are you going?” Alix whispered with an eyebrow raised  
“I think I saw a rabid Cat that needs his claws clipped” Alix paled at the response “Are you coming?” Alix quickly shook her head  
“I know that look in your eyes… and honestly, it terrifies me to the core” Rose smiled as she made her way out the door… for you see, while Sweet Rose could be as kind and gentle as a lamb…  
“I’ll be back in a bit”  
… She could also be as fierce as a lioness.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*  
A defusing Nino opened the door, shocked to see the girl in front of him, of all girls “May I come in?” she asked in her normal sweetly used tone, before brushing past him with slight force. Nino paled in fright as she walked towards the back-facing Captain… oh no… this can’t be good… Nino went to stop her… to reach her in time… she tapped on the Captain’s shoulder… Chat turned around…  
*SLAP!!!*  
Both Nino and Chat froze as they stared in complete SHOCK at the fact that their sweet, innocent, loving Rose had slapped… yes, SLAPPED the Captain of the ship clean across the face, with such force that, not only did it turn his head, but it was already starting to redden and swell… she was still smiling… but that fire in her eyes… Nino started creeping towards the door in a slow, I’m-so-dead-if-she-notices-and-remembers-I’m-here type of way, as the Captain flinches as he touched the red spot across his left cheek  
“What was that for?” Chat asked dumbly. Nino paused, his eyes growing wider as his knees began to shake…  
‘Please tell me he did not just ask that… PLEASE tell me he isn’t so stupid as to-’  
“That was for Marinette” she said in her chipper tone  
“Marinette?”  
‘Oh no… he DID!’  
“Yes. Marinette” she responded “… do you know where she is right now?”  
‘Chat… please don’t. For the love of Shellfish, PLEASE-’  
“Isn’t she still on the deck? I figured she’d just go about talking to Tomato-head again about her precious little Adrien… they both seem as equally obsessed with finding him” he pouted as he folded his arms together  
“On the deck? Oh no… didn’t you know? She collapsed right after you all but accused her of murdering a friend that you seem to claim to have killed already, and then just up and left her there like she was the scum of the earth” Chat’s eyes widened  
“She collapsed? IS SHE OKAY?!” he went to move towards the door, but was stopped by the small feminine hand against his chest, halting him on the spot. Rose shook her head  
“She’s in bed now. Poor thing cried herself to sleep” Chat slumped in his place  
“she’ssafe” he mumbled to himself  
“But she’s still hurt Chat. YOU hurt her” Chat looked up at her confused “Do you know what she was asking… saying more like, before she fell asleep?” Chat was beginning to sweat at the sight of the girl still smiling before him “She was talking about how much you hate her, how stupid she was to think you could ever be friends, how you keep hurting her, and how much her heart hurts to even just think about you hating her” Chat’s jaw dropped  
“BUT I DON’T HATE HER!” Chat rushed out “I JUST-”  
“Do you realize what I just said?” she asked with a smile. Chat stared at her “I said she was worried because of you… not Adrien… in fact… she didn’t bring Adrien up ONCE… she was so focused on what she felt for YOU, how she thought YOU felt for her… she fell asleep crying, thinking about YOU, Chat Noir… NOT Adrien” Chat stumbled backwards until he fell back into his waiting chair, eyes wide and unfocused to in front of him. Rose sighed, bringing Chat attention back to her, and seeing that her smile had finally fallen “You hurt her Chat. And I think you should apologize” Chat went to stand, but Rose moved to be in his way, confusing the poor boy. She shook her head “Not now… for now, you can let her sleep. She had a very taxing day today, which resulted in her getting her heart broken by one she loves” Chat winced at that “let her sleep. You can talk with her tomorrow” with that she turned, passed a startling frozen-in-place Nino, and paused in the doorway “You’re really not being fair to her, you know? Your lies are eating her alive, and you’re just sitting back and watching her crumble like you’re some kind of Akuma… you’re better than that Adrien… stop pushing away the ones you love… goodnight Captain” and with that she closed the door behind her. Both men just stared, wide-eyed at the closed door as if the sweet girl was still there before turning unblinking eyes to each other  
“D-did she just…” the Captain stuttered. Nino face-palmed… just how many of the crew actually KNEW?!?!?!

“GHAH!!!” Adrien screamed as he shot up in bed, panting, and sweating like a dog while trying to control his breathing and get his heartrate back to a normal tempo. He groaned as he wiped a hand over his own face, quickly coming to the realization that he must have had another nightmare, but just like the first time… he couldn’t remember what it was about. He was starting to feel paranoid… all his life he’d had the most precious dreams about the love of his life and, he supposed, their future child. It was the only explanation he could come up with when it came to the lovely repeat dream… but now suddenly out of nowhere, he’s starting to have nightmares?! And that’s not even the worst part… he can’t remember them. While the first time he found that reassuring (can’t remember = don’t have to worry about it, right?), now it was haunting him, especially since, while he can’t remember what it was about… he’s fairly sure it was the SAME dream as before, and seeing as how this was the SECOND time it’s happened, and based on the fact that he actually DID get to meet the woman from his LITERAL dreams… his breath quickened again as he began to realize that for the first time in his life… he was afraid of the unknown… It was about that time that the Captain realized that it was like a Sauna in here. He quickly rose to his feet and nearly ripped the door off its hinges as he took a deep, cooling, relaxing breath of midnight fresh air, before deciding a quick patrol around the ship might do him some good, and possibly help his mind to stop spinning.  
The Captain walked around for about an hour or so… everyone was asleep, and he was about halfway there himself. He had briefly saw Nino at the wheel, but was quite certain the other man hadn’t noticed him since he didn’t try to bring any attention to himself… after all, the goal of this walk wasn’t to actually talk to anyone, but to clear his mind and exhaust him to the point that he could collapse if he were to stop moving… and he was finally at that point.  
With that thought in mind, he decided to head back to bed.  
He’d accidently bumped into the cabin door, making him take a step back while he rubbed his poor nose (and may have mumbled a few half-dead sea words), before he sighed, opened the door, and made his way over to the only bed, pulled the blankets back, scooted over the... pillows? Body? Body pillow? (He couldn’t focus enough to care) over, and crawled into the small bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was out for the count.  
He woke up (only about a half hour later) to the feeling of someone squeezing his ribs… a little tight… it kinda hurt. He was just starting to regain consciousness when he heard the muffled crying/pleads to stop, and felt the warm weight on his bare chest begin to become wet… still half out of it, he began to wonder what was going on when suddenly the form beside him shot up screaming. That woke him up. He shot up beside her, quickly rubbing slow circles across her back while shushing her gently, waiting out her panic attack to calm down (while trying to convince himself that he couldn’t have a panic-attack too). She screamed for Chat as if she was in agony while in her still half-dazed state, and cried with wide eyes. He tried to shush her as he reassured her that he was right there. It was at that moment that they both finally acknowledged the others presence… in a bed… “A-Adrien?”

Both sets of eyes grew wide, Adrien FINALY realizing that ‘I MAY have forgotten one very important part of my outfit, like, oh I don’t know MY MAGIC RING?! Wait a minute… if I didn’t put my ring on before exploring the ship, then… th-then that means… oh my…’ before Mari quickly clung to the boy at her side… tears springing anew as she began pounding her balled fists on his bare chest  
“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAVE HIM?! YOU PROMISED… YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD KEEP HIM SAFE! YOU LIED…. YOU LIIIIIIIIIIIAR!!! WHY?! WHY DID YOU JUST UP AND DISSAPEAR?! HOW COULD YOU?! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP YOUR PROMISES! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DIE?!” Adrien was still trying to catch up with just what was actually happening… so… it would seem that in his tired state, he had somehow come to enter Marinette’s room, managed to scoot her over on her little twin size mattress, and fell asleep with her at his side, all while conveniently FORGETTING to done his Captain’s costume… yeah, okay, so… that happened (thank God the only one else in the land of the living was Nino). And now, the poor girl was going hysterical, pounding on his chest, yelling at him… Adrien… and asking why he didn’t save… wait…  
“Who Mari?”  
She gave a single hard hit with her fist “CHAT!” before she collapsed in on herself, having spent all of her energy as she began to bawl again. Adrien took a quick deep breath… she was crying… because of HIM?! He shook his head, taking to gently petting her head… before quickly pulling away at the heat of it… oh no… he quickly went to check her forehead, and confirmed his suspicions… she had another fever… she was getting a lot of those lately. He quickly rose to his feet, went around to the other side of the bed, collected the still crying girl into his arms, and carefully carried her over to the window seat, where he sat her down before opening the window, then he ran to collect the bowl of water and a rag from her vanity. When he came back, he gently sat down beside her, dipped the rag till it was soaked, and slowly, softly, began to dab the cold, wet rag to her forehead and face to cool the fever, reduce the puff to her eyes, and clear away the tear track from her cheeks.  
“Mari-”  
“Ilovehim” she had whispered it so quietly, as if she hadn’t even wanted to say it to herself… Adrien, however, choked on air as the sudden quote, making him jump in shock, completely dropping the bowl of water from his lap. His eyes were wide as saucers  
“W-what?” Mari seem to finally take notice that she wasn’t alone, as her eyes shot wide to him and realized just what he had heard… before slowly closing again as she leaned back against the wall until her breathing evened out… he waited with a racing heart… she remained unmoving… ‘did she fall back asleep?’  
“I…” she started, her eyes still closed as she tried to find the words “I don’t know… I’ve gotten to know him Adrien, he’s nothing like what I’ve heard of before… he’s kind… generous… compassionate… humble… brave… extremely brave… he took in the abandoned… the outcast… the runaways… the alone… he gave them a home Adrien… I mean, while life back in Atlantic was good, I’ve never felt so... at peace… relaxed… cared for… although, I guess that makes since, with my getting sick or being bedridden more times than my entire life… but… they’re there for me… he’s there for me… I mean, he’s trying so hard to teach me to walk, to dance, to read and to write in his native tongue, how to be a ‘proper lady’ as he calls it” she gave a tired giggle “Chat… he infuriates me to the rock bottom of the ocean and back, but… his eyes are so bright… his heart is so pure… his face so kind… his touch is so soft-” Marinette gasped as her eyes flew open at the touch of his bare hand to her shoulder.  
Adrien froze. Completely and utterly froze in place the moment her eyes opened wide… what was he doing? Why was he touching her? Was he just leaning in?! His inner panic quickly turned to concern, however, as he noticed… she’s shivering… why is she shivering? The he finally realized… “Marinette? Where is the coat?” Marinette blinked in confusion  
“Oh. That…” she glanced out to the other side of the room, Adrien following her lead… there it was… folded over the back of a chair “I guess I forgot to put it back on after I got dressed this morning” Adrien’s wide eyes quickly turned back to face the girl beside him  
“You forgot?” she shrugged, her glance never leaving the coat “but… I thought you couldn’t live without it” Mari giggled at that and tuned to face him  
“It’s just a coat Adrien” his jaw dropped, making her giggle again  
“B-bu-but-”  
“Adrien…” she took his hand “the coat… it’s a reminder to me of the first friends I actually ever made… you, and Alya… it reminds me of the promise I made to a certain dark redhead… to bring both you and Nino back to her…” he gulped “Adrien… you’re a Prince… you should be home, leading your people to the best of your abilities, not on some wild trout-chase that’s never going to happen” that brought him back  
“What do you know of my goals? And why do you seem so convinced that they’ll never be met?” Marinette slowly shook her head  
“Adrien… mermaids can’t raise the dead” he blinked dumbly at her  
“H-how-”  
“It doesn’t matter… while it’s true that a mermaid can grant you a wish… they can’t possibly raise the dead… they’re not God. Heck, they’re not even immortal as many of your people seem to believe, they just… take care of themselves a little better, I guess?” she shook her head again “Adrien… unless you have another reason for earning a mermaid’s heart… please… let this go… let HIM go… please… I’m not blind, I can see what this task is doing to him… heh, he didn’t even know the difference between a mermaid and a siren… please… release him of this bond… this promise… this deal you have with him… the coat… you can have it, I don’t really need it anymore to remember my promise to Alya. But Chat… I-I… Idon’tknowifIcanlivewithouthim” she looked up to see him staring at her like she just told him the earth was round. She sighed as she looked down to her lap “Ch-Chat told me that y-you… you told him… you love me?” she glanced up through her eyes. Adrien nodded mutely. Mari sighed again as she leaned back against the wall again “I… I’m gonna be honest… while I’m flattered, I just… i-its just… I entertained the idea that maybe… maybe you were the boy from my dreams. I mean… hair as gold as the sun, eyes as green as seaweed, a smile brighter than the night stars… h-honestly, it’s one of the reasons I kept returning to the dock everyday… I wanted to get to know you better, to see if… m-maybe… but then I met him… he literally jumped overboard to save me… twice now… he’s constantly letting his guards down around me, I’ve gotten to know him… he’s… he’s amazing Adrien… and I’m starting to wonder, i-if m-maybe… the boy I’m seeing in my dreams… is… hi-”  
“Can I kiss you?” they both blinked in surprise at the question  
“Wh-what?” Adrien took a deep breath  
“You’re right. I am in love with you. I’m so far in over my head with you I can’t tell up from down anymore, and I’ll forever more regret not waiting an extra day before I up and left on this voyage. But if you’re saying what I think you’re saying… someday, maybe you can bring Adrien back, but for now… I must remain hidden, if for nothing else, then to remain hidden from my father… Nino was a part of that crusade after all, and it seems that I am not the only prize my father plans to claim by sending out the Navy… Chat is not the only one looking for a mermaid, even if it’s supposed to be on the down low… the last reported sighting of Adrien was so far off course a few years ago, I can only hope they fell for it. But someday… when this is finally all over… I’ll finally reveal myself to you, but for now… I suppose if Adrien had to lose you to anyone… so Chat Noir, huh?” Mari blushed as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact. Adrien smiled gently as he took her hands in his “I’m sorry for hurting you… for pushing you to your limits… for scaring you… for seeming mean and cruel… I really do love you. It was never my intention to hurt you in any way… really… all I really want to do is keep you safe… but I suppose… Chat Noir can do a better job of that than Adrien, huh?”  
“Adrien-”  
“It’s okay. I understand. I’d choose him over Adrien any day. So… I won’t bother you anymore until you can bring me out of hiding. But I’m afraid… I may not be so exposed or vulnerable the next time you see me, and I might not even be able to bring up the courage to even ask, so… Marinette… can I kiss you goodbye, just this once?” Mari’s breath caught in her throat as she glanced into his deep, pleading/begging eyes. She swallowed. She nodded. He raised a single hand to cup her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut. He leaned in slowly, stopping an inch from her lips. Their breathing mingled together, causing both hearts to increase speed  
“Chat” she whispered. He leaned in… and placed a gentle, lingering kiss against her forehead as she released the breath she was holding in.  
“Your fever’s gone down… it’s late… you should try to sleep again” he whispered. She nodded, her eyes still shut gently. Carefully he picked her up Princess style and carried her back to bed. He hesitated a moment, before he turned to grab the coat to wrap around the beautiful creature before him (maybe the coat wasn’t so bad after all). He tucked her in good and tight before he stood back to make sure she was well and out of it. Adrien ran a hand down his face before turning to see the sun just starting to peek up from the horizon. He sighed as he resolved to do what he had to.

The moment he opened the door, he was pleased to see Nino leaning against the doorframe, swirling a certain piece of jewelry around his little finger “You know Dude… it’d be pretty entertaining to see you try to explain how a missing Prince suddenly came aboard and what happened to our beloved Captain who seems to have miraculously disappeared” Nino smirked as Adrien grabbed the ring from his (supposedly) best friend and quickly shoved it on his finger. Nino squeezed his eyes shut to keep the bright green light from causing him to go blind. Once it was finished, both Nino and Chat turned to make sure they hadn’t woken the sleeping beauty behind them. Mari moaned as she curled more into herself, deep into the world of dreamland.  
Nino clasped a hand on Chat’s shoulder, unable to hide his smile from forming “Go on to bed Chat. I’ll get Kym to take the next shift” Chat nodded before making his way back to his own chambers (yes, he double checked this time).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and P.S.  
> Okay, two things...  
> 1\. This Saturday, August 25th, 2018, me, my friend, and her parents will be going to Matsuricon in OH... I'll be dressed as my OC from Amino (Annita Artiste), so if you're there, feel free to say Hi! ^_^
> 
> 2\. Here on September 12th, 2018, I'm going to be auditioning for American Idol... still don't know for a fact what I'm gonna sing.  
> Yup... ending the Summer with a BANG!!! lol  
> I'll let you guys know if I get that Golden Ticket ;)
> 
> As always, don't forget to like, kudo, share, follow and comment (I absolutely THRIVE on Comments)  
> Love you guys!!!!  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so... I know I'm still in the middle of True Love's Kiss, and, don't worry, I'm NOT abandoning it... I've just decided to write this one as well, I mean... hey, it's fun =^_^=
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you guys think, k?  
> Like, subscribe, bookmark, share, and mostly...  
> COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT!!!  
> (Seriously, the more comments, the more likely I am to update sooner... you guys have NO IDEA how inspiring it is to read your comments.... Thank you <3)  
> =^_^=


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